The Castle of the Howling Moon
by B Boi
Summary: Three kids are transported to a realm of shadows, where a dark castle looms before them. To escape, they must overcome the challenges they face in the Castle of the Howling Moon. Now rated T for minor blood.
1. Origins of the Dark Castle

I don't own Pokemon or anything related to Pokemon. This applies for this entire fanfic(so I don't have to keep typing it every single episode). But I do own my original characters.

Prologue: Origins of The Castle

A large, beautiful castle was positioned on a hilltop surrounded by a large forest. The forest had a lake positioned inside its boundaries. There was a wide path cleared from the large castle to a large town. It was busy with lots of business. A blue bird with cloudlike wings dropped from the sky and landed in one of many courtyards of the castle. The Altaria preened its wings and flew into the hall leading to the throne room.

The king sat in his throne, pondering his thoughts while his Altaria flew in next to him. The growls of the guards' Lairon could be heard. The whole courtroom was chatting. A boy walked in with his Grovyle next to him.

"Cmon dad!" he pleaded. "Why won't you battle me?"

"Because of 2 reasons. One, I am pondering an important matter, what to do with your uncle. cough so loud in here cough. Two, I would beat you in a heartbeat."

"Actually, I think I would last about a minute."

The king chuckled. But at that moment, a cloaked figure walked in the throne while a wet Lairon was sent flying across the hall. The person's Swampert was standing next to him with a stone cold stare.

The king said, "Now that isn't a way to treat one of my guards, my brother."

The person replied, "What? They were in my way. Anything in my way gets exterminated."

"Well Derek, you wouldn't make many friends.",the king said.

"Anyway, Lance, I didn't come here to battle. I came here to claim what is mine. The crown." He pointed at the jewel-covered gold crown on top of the king's head. "I deserve to be ruler of this kingdom."

One of the guards yelled, "How DARE you suggest such a…preposterous idea! I will personally take care of AAAAHHHHGGGG!"

A Quilava had blasted him with a stream of fire. The guard landed with a smoking thump.

A kid about the age of Bartholomew had a Quilava by his side.

"Now now Andrew, don't be so harsh with your prey." Derek said.

"I'll do that, when Bartholomew beats me with all his weak pitiful Pokemon against one of mine!"

"HEY! I COULD BEAT YOU BLINDFOLDED!"

"Heh, I'd prefer that, so you wouldn't even see your own pathetic defeat!"

"WHY YOU…."

"Bartholomew, let it go." The king gently calmed the prince's temper.

Derek continued, "Now, where was I before my son pleasantly heated things up… ah yes. I am issuing a challenge to you Lance. If I beat you in a Pokemon battle, then you must forfeit your throne. But if you win, then I will allow you to do anything with me."

"Don't do it dad!" Bartholomew yelled. "It's a trick!"

"What better way to silence my brother by defeating his Pokemon. Alright Derek, I accept!"

The whole court gasped. The king's advisor came up to the king. "Your majesty, you can't possibly go through with this! Even if you do win, Derek might not play fair. He's known for being a sneaking, backstabbing demon!"

"If he does have a plan B, you guys can make sure he is taken down."

"Yes, your majesty."

The king stepped down from his throne. He took a stone out of his robe. It was glowing with a bright light. "Gengar, come forth!" A white beam shot out of the crystal and onto the floor. It materialized into a purple ghost.

"GENGAR!"

"My turn Lance!" Derek took out a glowing stone just like the king's. "I choose you Scizor!" A white beam shot out and a red bug with two pincer-like claws was standing there. It faced the Gengar with a bloodthirsty stare.

"Gengar, night shade!" The ghost disappeared and reappeared behind the Scizor. Black bolts struck out from the Gengar's eyes. They smashed into the Scizor's back.

"SCIZOR!" It fell face-first onto the floor.

"Get up Scizor, or you won't be seeing sunlight ever again after I'm done with you." The Scizor, now "properly" motivated, got up. "Now, metal claw!" The Scizor lashed out, claws bursting with energy. However, the Gengar was not so dumb to stand in front of the moving target. It disappeared again, this time, floating on top of the Scizor.

"Gengar, shadow ball!" The Gengar charged up a ball of dark energy and launched it at the Scizor below him. However, the Scizor cancelled it out by smashing it with a metal claw attack.

"Now Scizor, use hyper beam!" The Scizor's claws charged up. Two beams of energy shot out of both the Scizor's claws.

"Gengar, double team." Suddenly, the whole room was filled with copies of Gengar. The hyper beam attack destroyed 3 of them.

"Hypnosis!" The Gengar's eyes started to glow orange. The Scizor toppled over asleep on the floor. "Finish it with dream eater!" Ghostly fangs surrounded the Scizor. They clamped down and the Scizor screamed in agony. A beam shot out of the crystal Derek was holding and hit the Scizor. It disappeared into the crystal.

"Worthless maggot…", Derek muttered. The king also recalled his Gengar. "Go Altaria!" The creature by the king's side rose and flew to the battle.

"Go, Swampert!" The beast standing next to Derek walked onto the battlefield.

"Altaria, aerial ace!" It flew into the air and zoomed down on the Swampert with incredible speed. The water/ground type was sent back flying. "Counter Ice Beam!" Swampert charged up a beam of ice..

"Altaria, don't let that attack hit you. Deflect it with twister!" Altaria flapped its wings with considerable force and a tornado was created. A couple of chairs and tables were flung into the air, spinning around like crazy. The Ice Beam attack was let loose. A bright light lit the room. Suddenly, the whole room felt a bit colder. The beam of ice raced toward the Altaria. But it was caught in the twister and it zoomed around and around. The twister moved in the direction of Swampert. The frozen tornadofrostedthe Swampert to submission.

"Swampert, come back…weakling…" "Good job Altaria." The bird flew to the king and he rubbed its wings affectionately. It cawed with satisfaction.

_Two more Pokemon left_, Derek thought. _This plan better work._

The king taunted Derek. "I've taken out 2 of your Pokemon. There's still a chance for forgiveness." "I'd rather kiss an Ekans than apologize to YOU!" Derek took out another stone. Again, a beam of light shot out, but this time, a green, oval-shaped stone appeared.

"Is this some kind of lame joke?" Bartholomew asked.

"Actually, this is FAR from lame. DEOXYS! Come forth!" The stone vibrated. It was lifted into the air by an unknown force. It shook and shook until it was surrounded by a growing light. Then, the light took the form of a Pokemon. It was like none ever seen before. It was blue and red. It looked sort of like a human. The head had two blocks sticking out of the sides. There was a straight gash from the forehead all the way to its chin. The legs were pointed. Out of its shoulders were a red and blue tentacle of each side. They formed together to make an arm.

"Is this that new Pokemon you were raving on and on about?" the king said with a tone of disappointment in his voice.

"Why, yes indeed. Its name is Deoxys. I found the strange stone imbedded into the side of a mountain during one of my hikes. As soon as I removed it, the stone morphed just like it did a moment ago. It then followed my every command. Deoxys is quite a good slave."

"That is NO way to treat your Pokemon!" Bartholomew yelled.

"But Pokemon were made to serve us you pathetic little moron!" Andrew countered.

"I'm gonna so kick your sorry little…" "Bartholomew…" "Yes dad…."

"Ok then, use your new Pokemon. It's not going to make much of a difference. I choose you Sceptile!" The beam of light from the crystal the king was holding became a green and red lizard. It was standing on its hind legs. The tail was covered in green leaves. Yellow bulbs lined up the back of the Sceptile.

"Sceptile! Leaf blade attack now!" The leaves on the Sceptile's forearm glowed a bright green. They combined together to make one long green glowing blade. The lizard seemed to teleport in front of the Deoxys because it was so fast. It brought the blade down. Deoxys managed to dodge, but its arm and part of its leg were sliced off. Amazingly, they reappeared. The Deoxys didn't seem to be harmed.

"My my, Derek, looks _can _be deceiving. That thing might actually stand a chance."

"Deoxys, multiply!" The Deoxys's eyes glowed and clones materialized beside it. 49 Deoxys clones surrounded the Deoxys. But the problem was, you couldn't tell the difference between the real one and the fake one.

"Energy crush, Deoxys!" All the Deoxys changed. Their arms separated into tentacles. The blocks on the side of the head became horns curving backward. Each tentacle charged energy into a central point. In a moment, 50 energy balls were charged in the throne room. Then they all fired.

"Sceptile, agility!" The Sceptile dashed about the room, avoiding the energy balls. After about 5 seconds, one energy ball hit it. Miraculously, it passed through the Sceptile, doing no damage.

_That must have been an attack from one of the clones. I must figure out which one is the real one. _

About twenty more energy balls traveled straight through the Sceptile. But one of them didn't pass through. It exploded on contact with Sceptile. The grass-type was sent flying back a couple of yards. Lance calculated the trajectory.

"Sceptile, take in sunlight." The yellow bulbs on the back of Sceptile began to glow. A yellow light was forming in Sceptile's mouth.

"Sceptile, fire it at…that one!" The king pointed to a seemingly random Deoxys floating in the room. The Sceptile fired the solar energized beam at the Deoxys its master pointed out. But then all the other Deoxys formed a barrier around that one Deoxys. When the solarbeam connected with the Deoxys, they all disintegrated. It kept going through each and every one of the clones, blowing them to shreds. When it blew through the last clone and almost into the real Deoxys, Deoxys morphed. Its tentacles fused together into 2 straight boardlike limbs. Its head connected with the shoulders to form a protective helmet. A force field grew around the Deoxys which deflected the solarbeam attack.

"That Pokemon is full of surprises, isn't it, Lance?" _This is going to be harder than I thought _the king thought. Suddenly, he smiled.

"What's so funny?" Derek asked.

"Sceptile, lets show Mr. Cloner here a little bit of his own medicine! Double-team!" No sooner had he said this Sceptile flew around the room at an amazing speed. Duplicates were created everywhere.

"Deoxys, fight clones…WITH CLONES! Multiply!" Once again, the Deoxys created clones. Now, 75 Sceptile faced 75 Deoxys.

"Sceptile, bullet seed!" All the Sceptile fired glowing seeds at the Deoxys. "Deoxys, hyper beam!" All the Deoxys fired energybeams at the Sceptile. The result was a catastrophic explosion that knocked all the nobles off of their seats. Bartholomew and Andrew were both sent flying back. Two forms were visible. They were apparently struggling. A bunch of yellow dots glowed in the smoke. Then a beam of yellow light shot out from the fight scene. After the smoke cleared, Sceptile was standing there panting heavily. The Deoxys was nowhere to be seen. The only other thing that was there was an green oval-shaped stone lying on the ground.

"D…Deoxys!" Derek couldn't believe his eyes. Lance calmly said, "My Sceptile had fired a point blank range solarbeam at your Deoxys. Since that thing could regenerate, I decided the only way to win was to take it out with one shot." Derek was too stunned to even recall the remnant of Deoxys.

"Fine, I'm still going to win! This is it Lance. This is the moment we all have been waiting for. I choose you, Ho-oh!"

A large red bird with rainbow colored wings appeared. Everyone was awed by its beauty.

"Ok Derek. Play your games. I'll use my strongest Pokemon, Lugia!" A white and blue bird materialized. It had blue finned eyes and blue scales in two straight lines running down its back.

"I have the advantage Derek. My Lugia knows water-based attacks. Your Ho-oh is a fire-type."

"The last thing I need is to be taught by you. Ho-oh, Sacred Fire!" The Ho-oh glowed a bright red. Fire was being generated by this majestic beast. With one flap of its wings, a column of fire was sent flying toward the Lugia.

"Lugia, hydro pump!" Lugia opened its mouth and a tremendously powerful jet of water flew toward the column of flame. The sacred fire attack was instantly negated. But the hydro pump was flying. It hit the Ho-oh full force.

"Ho-oh, recover!" The Ho-oh regained health and looked as energized as ever.

"Ho-oh, isn't it a bit crowded in here? Why don't you fly up over the castle?" The Ho-oh flapped its wings and it burst through 5 floors before going to the sky.

"Lugia, follow it!" The Lugia broke through 5 floors as well. But as soon as it crashed through the ceiling, Ho-oh landed a well-aimed hyper beam attack, blasting Lugia back down to the throne room. Quickly regaining balance, Lugia flew straight out the door through a ton of courtyards and into the sky. The two legendary Pokemon could be seen as two tiny dots.

The Lugia fired a quick volley of aeroblasts. Ho-oh used evasive maneuvers and dodged them all. Lugia circled around and fired a large blast of water at Ho-oh. Ho-oh used safe-guard, blocking the entire attack. Then it charged up energy for a powerful Sky Attack. Lugia knew this and launched a Whirlpool at the Ho-oh, which was in a state of defenselessness. Although it was a really weak water attack, Ho-oh was weak against water, so the damaged doubled. It couldn't use recover since it was charging up the sky attack. Slowly beginning to lose health, Ho-oh unleashed the energy it charged. It broke through the whirlpool with a blaze of energy trailing behind it. But the whirlpool had blocked off Ho-oh's sight, so it had chosen a random direction. It flew away from Lugia and flew through a turret, knocking out a couple of archers.

Using Agility, Lugia caught up with the speeding Ho-oh. It was directly over it. Ho-oh, still speeding with the large amount of energy, couldn't really use any other attack. It tried turning, but it was going so fast, it couldn't turn that much. Lugia then charged up for an over-powered Aeroblast. They were flying closer and closer to the castle. Then Lugia let the Aeroblast loose.

* * *

"I wonder how Lugia's doing, dad." "Don't worry, he's doing fine." "Yeah but—"

Bartholomew never got a chance to finish his sentence. At that moment, Ho-oh crashed through the ceiling and almost flattened a couple of guards. Lugia flew down and stood victoriously over its defeated adversary.

"Looks like I win, Derek. Now, I'm going to give you one more chance." The nobles groaned.

"Dad, this is like the 1000th time you've forgiven him."

"I believe that he will recognize his wrongs."

Derek just stood there dumbfounded. Andrew couldn't believe it either. Derek had lost. But his will wouldn't let him give up.

"I'm not giving up Lance! If I'm going down, then you are coming with me! Ho-oh, use Hyper Beam!"

Ho-oh slowly raised its head then fired a white beam of energy straight at Lance. Lugia quickly reacted by using its psychic powers to pick up rubble to form a barrier. It had picked up the stone of Deoxys. The Hyper Beam connected with the barrier. It blew Deoxys's stone to pieces. A ball of energy was floating there. The Hyper Beam struck the energy ball and the beam headed straight for Lance.

"You're mine, Lance!" The beam almost hit him but Lugia rushed forward and took the hit. Lugia cried with pain. It's form was changing. It grew smaller. Its body turned bluish red. A blue oval stone was on its chest. It had Lugia's tail, and Lugia's wings. Deoxys's arms materialized onto the sides of Lugia. The head had a gash through the center and the eyes had blue fins around them. Three horns stuck out from the head.

"What have you done with Lugia Derek?"

"Deoxys, is that you?" The strange creature turned around and nodded.

"Looks like I win, Lance." Lance took out three stones and fired three beams, releasing his Gengar, Altaria, and Sceptile.

"Guards, send out your Lairon! Everyone, Hyper Beam!" The 40 Lairon and Gengar, Altaria, and Sceptile all used Hyper Beam. 43 beams of energy shot at the Deoxys/Lugia. With one swing of its arm, the beams swirled together into a big ball. It then hurled the ball straight at its opponents. After the dust cleared, everyone was knocked out except Sceptile who managed to use Agility to escape the blast zone and go behind Deoxys/Lugia.

"Sceptile, Giga Drain it!" Sceptile blasted a neon colored blast at the Deoxys/Lugia. It when it connected, it exploded into tiny little balls of energy that quickly returned to Sceptile, healing it.

"Deoxys! Use Energy Crush!" Its tentacles and the wings charged energy. It fired a titanic energy blast that put an end to Sceptile.

Suddenly, a black aura surrounded the fused Pokemon. It spread throughout the entire room and the entire castle. It enveloped the forest and the town completely. Then everything started to bend. It seemed as if the region was in a different realm. The king yelled, "Bartholomew, get out of here!" "I'm not leaving without you dad!" "Grovyle, get him out of here!" The Grovyle nodded. It grabbed Bartholomew and ran as fast as it could toward the entrance. Everything was twisting apart. Bartholomew felt it too. He looked at his hand. His fingers had swirled back and forth. They were almost out of the castle when they were picked up by a psychic force. It was Deoxys. They couldn't move.

"AAAAHHHH!" The king ran toward Deoxys. But before he reached it, Deoxys's hold on Bartholomew and Grovyle released. Deoxys seemed surprised. Then Lance tackled Deoxys. Deoxys's tail spun around and smacked the king, slamming him into a wall. But that had given Bartholomew and Grovyle enough time to escape. They had run out of the castle and into the forest. A loud howl could be heard. Then the whole forest sucked in. Bartholomew and Grovyle couldn't escape. But miraculously, Gengar teleported out of nowhere, grabbed them, and teleported to the edge. It threw them aside. But it was too late to save himself. Bartholomew watched in horror as the entire kingdom was sucked out of sight. The last thing heard was an eerie howl that struck fear into Bartholomew's heart.

* * *

Finally done with my first chapter. Is it kinda long? Please review. I appreciate your comments.  


	2. Setting the Scene

Setting the Scene

700 years later…

"Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy! Today I'm gonna be an official Pokemon trainer! I'm gonna beat the Elite Four and become the Pokemon League Champion!"

Near the coast of Tundra sea is a small town called Rivet Town. Brian Veron, who was 12 had just woke up. The black haired boy put on a pair of yellow shorts and a black shirt with yellow sleeves. There was a two-colored ball on the middle of his shirt. The top was red and the bottom was white.

"Hey mom, I'm going to Professor Girdon's lab! I'm getting my first Pokemon!"

"Wow Brian. It's so early. Normally you're still asleep for 3 more hours."

"Whatever mom. Seeya!"

When Brian got there, 2 kids were already in Professor Girdon's lab. There was a girl with brown hair. She was wearing blue jeans and a light green shirt that had pink heart on it. The guy across the room from her was wearing a black hooded sweater and brown pants.

"Oh hello Brian. I want you to meet Celia and Andy. They are going to start their Pokemon journey today too."

Brian greeted them. "Hi Celia and Andy. Are you guys from around here?"

"I'm here visiting my grandpa. My parents decided that since I'm here already I might as well get a starter Pokemon," Celia replied.

The other guy said, "I wander around from place to place. I decided to stay here for a while."

"I live in that house across the street."

"Good. Now everyone is acquainted. Since Celia got here first, she'll choose her Pokemon first. Rivet Town is special from the other places where you choose a starter Pokemon. Instead of choosing from 3, you guys will be choosing from 9, from Bulbasaur to Mudkip. They're all here. Now take your time."

Celia walked over to the counter with the 9 Pokeballs neatly lined up.

_Which one should I get? _Brian thought. _I'm so excited! I know! I'll choose Totodile!_

"I choose this one." Celia pointed to a Pokeball. Professor Girdon picked it up and a Totodile appeared.

_Dope! Oh well. I'll choose Charmander!_

Andy walked up to the counter and chose a Pokeball. Charmander popped out.

_DARN IT! Which one do I choose now? Those were the only ones that I know! _

"Brian, come choose your Pokemon."

Brian walked up to the counter. _Which one…Which one… _

Andy said, "Just choose one! Didn't you have one in mind before you got here?"

Brian turned around. He was going to say a comeback but his elbow knocked a Pokeball off the counter. It opened and a green and red lizard appeared.

"Treecko!", the Pokemon said.

Brian looked at the Treecko. "That thing looks so weird."

Apparently the Treecko was angry. It jumped up and slammed its tail onto Brian's head.

"OWW!" Brian collapsed with a huge bump on his head. He got up and started chasing Treecko around the lab. Suddenly the ground started shaking. The ceiling caved in. He felt something hit his already injured head. Then he was shrouded in darkness.

Author's notes: Hah. I know this chapter was BORING. But next chapter will have some battling. Please REVIEW!


	3. Enter the Darkness

Enter the Darkness

_Brian…Wake up… _**BRIAN! ** Brian popped up. He looked around. Andy was kneeling next to him. Celia was trying to wake up the Professor who was unconscious. There had apparently been an earthquake. A fissure separated the lab into 2. The walls were still standing but the ceiling had caved in.

"About time Brian. You ok?" Brian rubbed his head. But then he winced. A chunk of the ceiling had not only fallen on his head and knocked him out, but it fell onto his leg. "My leg's hurt, but I'll be ok." Totodile was sitting next to Celia. Charmander was standing behind Andy.

"Where's that Treecko?" Brian asked. He got up and he saw Treecko lying on a rooftop that had not yet collapsed.

"Get down here you lazy butt!" The Treecko hopped down. It dashed toward Brian and used Pound attack on his head again.

"OWW! You gotta quit doing that!" Treecko glared at Brian. Brian suddenly remembered his family.

"My mom! My dad!" Brian tried running to his house but his injured leg collapsed under him. However, he got back up and limped to the house which had almost collapsed but was still standing. When he was almost there, a black bolt of energy struck the spot right next to him. The explosion knocked Brian back.

Celia got up and turned around at the noise. "What have you done Bri- HOLY COW!"

An over-sized Haunter stared at them. Its body looked like it was just a ball of purple fire. Its eyes were blank and without expression.

"Charmander! Use Ember now!" Charmander leaped up and fired a small burst of fire from its mouth. It hit the Haunter straight in the face. However, it didn't seem injured. It fired another Night Shade, aimed for Brian.

Celia screamed, "Brian, look out!" Brian saw the oncoming attack and jumped as far as he could with his injured leg. The attack missed him and exploded onto one of the remaining walls of the lab.

"Totodile, Water Gun!" Totidile jumped out of the way of a Night Shade and blasted a stream of water toward the Haunter. Again, the attack hit the Haunter, but it didn't look injured. The Haunter seemed to be trying to kill Brian.

Suddenly, a Treecko jumped out at the Haunter. It dashed at it at an incredible speed. Treecko just passed straight through Haunter.

Brian idiotically asked, "What happened?" Celia and Andy's sweat dropped.

"You moron! Normal attacks don't work against Ghost-types!" Celia yelled.

Brian replied, "Oh, ok then. Treecko use Pound!" Treecko looked at Brian like he was an idiot. But it jumped into the air and slammed its tail onto Haunter. The attack passed straight through.

"You idiot." Andy said. "Pound is a normal attack. Tell it to use Absorb."

"Ok. Treecko, Ab-"

Treecko was hit by a Night Shade attack. He was sent flying back. He hit Brian, toppling him.

"Pathetic… Charmander! Ember now!" "Totodile! Use Leer!" Totodile's eyes grew red. But the Haunter didn't seem affected. Charmander fired three small blasts of fire. They connected, but still the Haunter wasn't hurt.

"How do we beat this thing?" Celia asked. Andy ordered, "Charmander, Ember again!" But before Charmander could attack, Haunter teleported in front of it. It blasted Charmander with a point blank range Night Shade. At that moment, a jet of water blasted Haunter. It turned around and threw a Shadow Ball attack at Totodile. After the dust cleared, Celia and Totodile were unconscious. Haunter moved closer to Brian. But finally Brian and Treecko got back up.

"What happened to everyone? Huh? Everyone's beaten? Oh well. I'll beat this thing myself. Treecko, Absorb!" Treecko shot a small green energy blast that hit Haunter. When it hit, it exploded into a lot of tiny bubbles that came back to Treecko. It looked more energized.

Brian exclaimed, "Ooh! That attack sucks energy from the opponent." "Duh you dumbbutt. Why do you think they call it ABSORB?" Andy said.

The Haunter threw another Shadow Ball. Treecko easily dodged it and used Absorb again. This kept happening until Treecko was at full strength.

"Now Brian, tell Treecko to use Bullet Seed." "Bullet Seed? What's that?" "Just do it!" "Ok Treecko, use Bullet Seed." Treecko looked at Brian questionably. It obviously didn't know that attack. But then its face lit up. A yellow glow charged up in its mouth. It then fired a continuous stream of energized seeds at Haunter. Every single one of them hit its mark. Haunter finally began to look weaker and weaker.

"Treecko, keep up the good work!" When Treecko was firing seeds, Celia woke up.

"Totodile! Are you ok?" Totodile didn't respond. She recalled her Pokemon. Andy did the same.

Although Haunter was getting weaker, Treecko was starting to look tired. Pretty soon it stopped the attack and knelt there, gasping for air. Haunter saw this chance and blasted Treecko with a Shadow Ball attack.

"Treecko! Noooooo!" Brian held the Treecko in his arms. But then Haunter raised its 2 hands and it created a black vortex that was sucking everything in.

"Everyone, hold on to something!" Andy clung to a telephone pole. Celia hid behind the broken wall. Brian was too busy trying to care for Treecko to notice the situation. Before he knew it, he was sucked in by Haunter. Chunks of the wall flew off and were sucked in. Not long after that Celia had nothing to cover her. She flew by Andy and went in the vortex. Only Andy was left. The telephone pole broke off and Andy could feel the vortex ripping him apart. Then there was silence and he fell unconscious.


	4. Welcome to the Town of Rivet

Welcome to the Town of Rivet

Brian sat up. He was in a stone house, sitting on a bed. Everything seemed so old-fashioned. An old lady came into the room he was in.

"Hello. Are you feeling ok?" she asked. The last thing he remembered was helping his Treecko after it had been defeated by that Haunter.

He yelled, "Where's my Treecko?" The old lady pointed to the table across the room. Professor Girdon's lab coat was bundled up neatly there. On top of it were three Pokeballs.

Brian jumped out of the bed, only to fall face first on the floor. He just remembered that his leg was injured. The lady helped him up and he released all three Pokemon. Treecko, Charmander, and Totodile appeared. They all seemed refreshed.

"I tended to their wounds. My, they looked as if they had fought a serious battle."

"They had. Thanks. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Christina. What would yours be?"

"Brian. Brian Veron."

Brian limped back onto the bed. Then Celia walked in.

"Totodile!" The little crocodile jumped into her arms. "Brian, oh my gosh! Is your leg ok?"

"It's nothing. I'm just in extremely excruciating pain." Celia's sweat dropped.

Brian asked, "How's Andy doing?" Celia looked down. "Not good. He has a gash on his shoulder." Brian thought _How did he get so hurt? My leg is injured from the debris. Celia wasn't hurt before we got here and she isn't hurt now. Andy wasn't hurt. What happened to him? _

"Hey Christina, what is this place?" She replied "This is a small town called Rivet." It's about a week's journey to the main city. We found you three lying unconscious near the Rivet entrance to the Forbidden Woods."

"Hey! This town's name is the same as my town's name!" "Oh really? That is amazing. You must've come a long way. You don't look like you are from near here."

"I'm not. Come to think of it… I don't even know how I got here. We had battled a weird looking Haunter. After we lost, it made a tornado thing and sucked us all in."

Christina looked as if she was in deep thought. "A weird looking Haunter. Could you tell me how it was weird?"

Brian thought for a moment. He thought and thought until Celia answered the question for him. "The Haunter's body looked like it was a big ball of purple fire. It's eyes had no expression whatsoever."

Christina then said, "I know what that thing was. It was the Black Specter. It, along with many other evil Pokemon, work for the King of Shadows, who is in control of the entire region. He dwells in that castle." She walked to the window and pointed at a dark shape off in the distance. It was a tall castle that seemed to have a black aura around it.

"The King of Shadows somehow brought the entire east region of Omni to a separate realm 700 years ago. The east region of Omni consists of all the land near the Castle. This town, the main city, Utila, and the Forbidden Woods. There are five nobles that work for the King of Shadows. One is here, two are in the main city, and one is inside the Castle. The fifth one resides inside the Forbidden Woods. It is said that those five are extremely powerful. Their job is to control the regions they are assigned to. And all over East Omni are evil soldiers called Shades that work for the King of Shadows. They maintain order around here. Like if there are any rebellions they will stop them. Oh, and one more thing. Night time is about three hours longer than day time."

Brian and Celia were still taking in all this information when suddenly a brown form flew through the window. It crashed onto the table with Professor Girdon's lab coat. Three Pokedexs and a relatively large case fell out. The case opened and about two dozen shrunken Pokeballs rolled out. Brian immediately knelt down and tried to help the Zigzagoon. Celia picked up all the stuff. The Zigzagoon's furry body was covered in blood. There were claw marks where its opponent attacked it. Brian got a closer look at it and saw that instead of brown fur and white stripes, it had brown fur and silver stripes. It had a silver stripe running from its nose to its forehead. Christina walked outside.

Brian tried to console the little creature. "Hey little guy. You'll be ok. Christina will fix you up." Then Christina walked back in. She said, "That bully! It always picks on poor Silver here. There was a reason we named it Claws."

Brian was filled with indignation. He limped outside. Treecko followed him. Christina followed him. She explained, "My husband and I own a farm. We raise Miltank and Mareep to sell milk and wool. We have Zigzagoon as herders. We got a new litter half a year ago. There was an unusual one that looked different. But we still accepted him. The thing is, a Linoone, Claws, keeps attacking it. It is almost 4 years older. It probably likes fighting, so it picks on the smallest one. Silver is always so discouraged.

Brian was really mad. "I'm gonna show that Linoone to not mess with Silver again."

Brian walked straight toward the barn. He saw three Zigzagoon and two Linoone sleeping on the floor. Brian instantly recognized the one called Claws. He was almost three times as large as Treecko. There was a scar on his left paw and its left eye.

Brian walked over to Claws. He yelled, "WAKE UP!" Claws instantly shot up. It glared at Brian.

"Listen, Claws, I'm gonna teach you not to mess with Silver! Treecko, let's take this outside!" Treecko dashed outside, followed by Claws. Claws was almost as fast as Treecko.

"Treecko, ricochet off that boulder and use Quick Attack!" Treecko sped toward the rock, planted both of his feet on the rock, and pushed off, straight into Claws. Treecko connected, sending Claws flying straight into a tree. Claws got back up. It lashed at Treecko with a Slash attack. Treecko managed to dodge it and retaliate with a Pound attack right on Claws's face. Claws did a 360 degree spin and landed on the grass. It got back up and kicked sand at Treecko. Treecko was covered in sand. It couldn't see the oncoming Tackle that knocked it onto a boulder.

"Treecko! Are you ok?" Treecko slowly got up. "Good job! Let's change our tactics. Use Bullet Seed!" Treecko fired multiple seeds at Claws. Claws ran in a zigzag motion, dodging the attack.

"Treecko! Quick Attack!" Treecko launched itself toward the Linoone. Claws lifted its claws. It slashed down. Treecko managed to stop right in front of Linoone with the Slash attack flying over its head. Linoone didn't have time to recover. Treecko blasted it with all the force it could use in a Bullet Seed attack. Linoone flew back, stunned by the rookie Pokemon mopping the floor with him.

"Good job Treecko! Now use-" A boulder flew toward Treecko. It jumped over it. The boulder flew past and toppled a tree. Brian looked over in the direction the boulder came from. There was a man wearing black uniform. He had black mask that covered everything but his eyes. A Graveler was in front of him.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing those things!" Despite Brian's comments, the Graveler hurled another boulder, this time at Brian. He jumped just in the nick of time.

"Ok. That's it. Treecko! Bullet Seed! Treecko fired energized seeds at Graveler. They bounced harmlessly off its tough body.

Christina walked out front. She gasped. "Brian! Call off the match! You don't stand a chance!" Then Celia stepped out. "He doesn't stand a chance…unless he has me! Totodile! Use Water Gun!" A stream of water was sent flying toward the Graveler. Graveler rolled into a ball. It spun so fast the water bounced right off. It trampled both Treecko and Totodile in one attack. It then whacked Brian and Celia. Brian hit a tree and Celia was slammed on the ground.

The Shade said, "If you ever attempt to fight me again, I will show no mercy to your Pokemon…or you."

Brian yelled, "You…you…" He charged at the Shade. The Graveler jumped into the air. It spun around and flew straight at Brian.

* * *

Author's Notes: ooh suspenseful. Is Brian gonna get squashed like an overcooked squash?

(that didn't make any sense whatsoever.) Please review. And thanks Voidmoon for reviewing. Just to let you know, you can use the Ho-oh vs. Lugia scenario anytime. It's always good to see a coupla overpowered legendary Pokemon beat the shitaki mushrooms outta each other.


	5. The Journey Starts

Hey this is B Boi here. This is gonna be my RS (Review Section) where I write an answer to people's reviews.

Voidmoon: Yeah I admit, my chapters are really short. Compared to yours, mine are midgety. Claws wasn't knocked out. Treecko just knocked it to yellow bar hp health. And Claws wasn't battling for 4 years. He was just around for 4 years longer than Silver. Of course Treecko lost his first match. He was attacked by a super buff Haunter. But Treecko put up a good fight too. Thanks for your comments. I'll try to make my chapters longer.

And since no one else reviewed (besides my other friend), here's chapter 5!

(mostly talking in this one)

The Journey Starts

Brian was just about to be squashed like an overcooked squash when a white blur tackled him to the side. Claws got up from beside Brian and snarled menacingly toward Graveler. Graveler threw a Mega Punch, but Claws dashed left and slammed its body on Graveler. Graveler slid back a little. Claws on the other hand, was rubbing his bruised and battered body from hitting the Graveler so hard. Graveler used Rollout and slammed into Claws, sending him flying. He collided with the stone wall of the house. Just when Graveler was about to finish Claws off, Christina stepped in front.

"Please, no more! I'm sure that's enough punishment. Please don't hurt Claws anymore!" The Shade looked at her for a moment, then shot a beam from a crystal he held. The Graveler disappeared into the stone. Brian looked dumbfounded. Then the Shade walked away.

"Brian, that was no ordinary Shade! That was the Rivet Town Noble's assistant! You could've been killed!" Brian stared off in the direction the Shade walked. He made a vow, a vow to free these innocent people of East Omni from this evil.

Brian got up with Christina's help and limped over to Celia. She was ok, just a coupla bruises. They carried her back inside. An old man walked in. He looked at Christina and the guests he had.

"Christina, what happened? I just saw the Rivet Town Noble's assistant walk away FROM OUR FARM!" Christina said, "It was a misunderstanding…"

(Two hours later…)

Brian was sitting under a tree close to the barn with his injured leg laid out in front of him. Treecko was draped over a branch snoozing.

_Wow, it's really dark. Christina_ _wasn't kidding about nights longer than days. Good thing she gave me a lantern. _

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Brian turned around and he saw Christina. She sat down beside him.

"Do you know why Claws acted the way he did back there? How he saved you and tried to beat that Graveler although it was clear that he didn't stand a chance?"

Brian shook his head.

"It's because a Shade and his Pokemon killed Claw's family. We found him lying there on this spot right here. He limped all the way here trying to follow that Shade. We had to take him in. He was so full of bitterness and hatred. He decided to take it out by fighting so much. Now all he does everyday is fight against the other Zigzagoon. I guess he takes out Silver so often because Silver reminds him of his weakness and inability to help his family. I wish we could have a happy life too. But that will never change. The King of Shadows is in complete control over the entire realm. There is no possible way…"

"I'm gonna make it possible then!" Brian defiantly yelled. "I've decided what to do and you're not going to change my mind. I am going to defeat all five Nobles, gain access to the Castle, and kick the King of whatever's butt so hard his grandma will feel it!"

Christina chuckled. "Brian, that's very compassionate of you. Right now, your main problem is to find a way to go back to your world. We are cursed with an eternity of darkness. It's not your fault."

"We don't care if it's your fault or not. What matters is that it is wrong and we are going to do something about it." "I might as well tag along too." Brian whirled around to see Celia and Andy. Brian added, "Besides, we just got our starter Pokemon to start our Pokemon journey. Since we're stuck here, we might as well have a journey here."

Christina finally said, "Well, if you insist. Come back inside. I have gifts for you to take on your quest."

Brian, Celia, and Andy walked back inside. A few minutes later, Christina walked in with a bundle in her hand. At her feet were Claws, a Nidoran (male), and a Pichu.

She walked over to Celia. "I'm giving you my baby Pichu. Take good care of it, and later it will take care of you." Celia stared in wonder at the cute little mouse.

Then Christina walked over to Andy. "This Nidoran will be yours to keep. It's a bit shy though, but I know it will open up someday. I have a feeling you guys will be good partners and friends." Andy didn't look so sure.

Finally, she walked to Brian. "I know you and Claws didn't exactly have a good start, but the way it reacted to you in danger, there was a bond there. Claws will be a great help to you. And a special gift for you, Brian." Christina gave him the bundle. Brian opened it. There was a box that had the sun and the moon carved onto it.

"This was my sister's. She gave it to me on my 20th birthday." Brian opened the box. He couldn't believe his eyes. There was a necklace with a sapphire pendant shining with a beauty that warmed his heart. Then he looked at Christina.

"I can't possibly take this! This is too much of a gift!"

"Brian, this pendant will comfort you in the darkest of times. This is a minor gift for you, since you are risking your life for me, and my husband, and all the people trapped here."

Brian was still in awe. When he finally looked up, Celia was gone. But she came back with the three Pokedexs.

"I think Professor Girdon was going to give us these." She passed them around. Brian looked at the device. It had a small strap under it. He slid in onto his forearm. Then it started up.

"… … Pokedex version X online … … registering trainer I.D. … …" A light shot out from a small lens at the front of the Pokedex. Brian lifted it up to his face.

"… … Trainer I.D. registered… … transferring Pokeballs…" The Pokeball at Brian's waist glowed, then disappeared. A small red and white ball icon appeared on the Pokedex screen. Under it, there was a label that said "Treecko."

"Wow, it's so hi-tech." Celia also brought in the case with the Pokeballs. She divided them up and the three Pokedexs zapped them up. More and more Pokeball icons appeared. They all read "Empty." Treecko walked back in. Claws snarled at him. Treecko just snorted.

"Hm… how do I get the Pokeball back out?" He pressed a few random buttons until he finally saw the one that said "Release." He pushed it, and Treecko's Pokeball was highlighted. A sign came up that read "Ok?" Brian said, "Yeah, that one." The front of the Pokedex glowed, and a white light formed in Brian's hand. Then Treecko's Pokeball appeared. He returned Treecko. Then the Pokeball disappeared.

"Cool! Now I need one for Claws." An empty Pokeball appeared, and Brian threw it at Claws. He disappeared into it, and the ball returned to Brian's hand. It then disappeared. Celia and Andy both caught and returned Pichu and Nidoran. Christina's husband walked in with three packs.

"These are for you. They have about a week's amount of food. Then you'll have to get your own. And to make money, you usually beat trainers. They'll give you a little cash."

Christina said, "Now, you three will start out in the morning. And just to let you know, I have a granddaughter about your age. Her name is Lillian. So say hi to her if you meet her. Have a good night's rest." The three went into their rooms. Treecko released itself, and slept on Brian's head the whole night long.

* * *

Author's Notes: This was a BORING chapter. So much talking. But I HAD to explain everything or nothing would make sense. Now the three have 2 Pokemon each. Please Review and tell me how boring this chapter is. 


	6. Shade Fight

Shade Fight

"Ugg… we have been walking so long. I thought Christina said Rivet Town was small. Why did her house have to be at the outskirts of Rivet Town?", Brian said. His leg was almost completely healed.

Andy replied, "We're walking to the town square, where all the shops and important stuff are. And that's where the first Noble is too. So stop complaining."

The threesome had been walking for about 2 hours. Surrounding them was a field. Off to the right was the border of the Forbidden Woods.

Brian was still complaining. "I am really bored…I mean really bored…"

Celia spun around. "DON'T YOU THINK WE ARE TOO YOU MORON! BUT DO YOU SEE US COMPLAINING?"

Brian said, "I know! How about we have a practice battle to test out our Pokemon. We've never been in a real, fair Pokemon battle yet."

"Ok, if it will make you shut up." Celia said annoyingly. Brian looked at Andy. Before he could say anything Andy said, "No. I will not battle. I've done some training by myself already. I'll be the referee."

Brian and Celia walked opposite directions for a good length. Then, with a good amount of space for a battle, they started.

"Go Claws!" A Pokeball appeared in Brian's hand. He flung it and it released a white light that materialized into a Linoone. Claws turned around and tried to scratch Brian.

"HEY! STOP! I'm your trainer now!" Claws just sighed and got down into a sleeping position.

"Brian, your Pokemon won't even listen to you. Oh well. Let's go, Pichu!" The tiny yellow and black mouse yelled his cute little battle cry. "Pi Pi Pi Chu!"

"Pichu use Thundershock!" Pichu gathered electricity in its little cheeks. However, it was really inexperienced and it let the charge loose in a random direction. It flopped down onto the floor, tired out.

"Claws, now's your chance! Slash attack!" Claws continued to sleep.

"AAAHHH! CLAWS WAKE UP!" It didn't respond.

"Stupid little…." Brian ran forward and kicked Claws in the behind. Claws turned around with its eyes all red. After a few painful moments, Brian was covered in claw marks.

Celia couldn't help rolling on the floor laughing. She finally got up.

"Pichu, sweet kiss!" Pichu ran forward. There was a faint pink aura around him. He fired a little heart at Claws. Claws saw it and sliced it in 2 and then Growled. That was enough to make Pichu run away and return itself into the Pokedex. Brian, too worn out by Claws's resistance, returned it. Then they both sent out Treecko and Totodile.

"Ok! We have the type advantage! Absorb!" Treecko charged energy in its mouth and fired a green orb and Totodile.

"Dodge and use Bubble!" Totodile ducked, then shot a stream of bubbles at Treecko. It only did slight damage, but Treecko's speed was lowered. And speed was Treecko's best skill.

"Good job Totodile! Use Rage!" Totodile's eyes grew red. It then charged Treecko. Treecko easily dodged it, even with the speed reduction.

"Absorb again!" Treecko fired another green energy blast. It blasted into Totodile, then it healed Treecko to maximum health.

"Treecko, Bullet Seed!" Wave after wave of supereffective energized seeds struck Totodile. She was badly hurt.

"Cmon Totodile! Use Rage again!" Her eyes grew even more red. It charged Treecko, this time with more speed. But again, Treecko dodged. He ricocheted off a small boulder and fired another onslaught of Bullet Seeds. Totodile was getting weaker and weaker. Treecko then burst at Totodile with Quick Attack. He slammed into her, knocking her a few feet back.

"Ok. Third time's the charm. Use Rage again!" Brian thought _Why is she doing that?_

Totodile's eyes grew blood red. It flung itself at Treecko at a blinding speed and tackled it. Hard. Treecko flew back and rolled for a couple of yards.

Treecko got up. He looked like he didn't know where he was.

"Finish it with Rage!" Totodile's eyes looked like they were on fire. She flew at Treecko, slamming her entire body against him. Treecko was flying for a while before landing with a hard clomp on the grassy field.

"WHAT? TREECKO LOST?" Treecko, with a sling on an arm and a band-aid over its eye, waved a white flag in front of Brian's face.

Andy shook his head. "Lack of knowledge can really kill you."

Brian still looked confused. Celia explained, "Rage attack starts out really weak. Once used, its attack power doubles whenever the user is hit. You hit Totodile 4 times after it used Rage. So the attack power multiplied by 8, enough to knock Treecko's brains out."

Totodile walked back to Celia. She petted it, and Totodile jumped around with joy. Celia started laughing. But then she stopped. Standing behind her was a Shade. His purple cap, black shirt, purple vest and black trousers immediately darkened the mood.

"You three! What is your business here?" Andy spoke up. "We're here to go to the town square." "And what business do you have there?" Andy stopped. Celia said, "Oh… we're going there to check out the shops." The Shade looked at her. He walked up to her and grabbed her hand.

"You're a crafty little one, aren't you?" You think I'd fall for that pathetic excuse?" Celia screamed, "Let go you freak!"

"Freak, am I?" He slapped her across the cheek. She backed up a little bit. Brian charged forward.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" The Shade looked at Brian. He knocked him in the jaw. Brian fell down with a clomp next to his Treecko. Suddenly, a blast of fire almost torched the Shade. He turned around to see Andy's Charmander staring at him.

"You know, fistfights are wimpy. If you really are that tough, then beat me in a Pokemon match!"

"Oh you just made a big mistake!" He pulled out a crystal. It shot a beam out that materialized into a Geodude.

Andy pointed the Pokedex on his arm at the Geodude. It scanned the rock-type.

"… … Pokemon: Geodude. Level: 14. High defense and attack… …" Andy grinned. "Easy prey. Charmander! Use Ember!" Charmander charged flame in its mouth. Then three fireballs were hurled at Geodude.

"Defense Curl now!" Geodude rolled up into a ball. The Ember attack bounced right off.

Andy said, "Time to test out our new attack! Use Flare!" Charmander spun around and aimed its tail at Geodude. The flame on the tail grew larger until it burst into a current of fire that knocked the Geodude out in one shot. Charmander looked tired.

"How was that possible?" "That was an attack only Charmander and its evolutions could learn. Flare takes some energy from Charmander. That much energy is doubled, which is then converted into energy in Charmander's tail flame. Then it fires the doubled energy at the opponent. Since your Geodude had a high defense, I decided to make Charmander take off 75 percentof its energy."

The Shade was shocked to see that a kid was beating him. He shook his head, then sent out a Nidorino. Andy took out a berry and popped it in Charmander's mouth. Then Charmander looked much more energized.

"Sitrus berries are very useful." The Shade said, "Horn Attack!" The Nidorino's horn grew white. It then charged Charmander. Charmander jumped over the attack, then fired an Ember attack. It fried Nidorino's back. But then it turned around and rammed its horn into Charmander. He was sent flying back.

"Charmander, use Ember again!" Charmander shot 3 fireballs at Nidorino. It dodged, then jumped. It was right in front of Charmander.

"NOW! Use Flamethrower!" Charmander sucked in a deep breath, then blew a powerful flame blast at Nidorino. It collapsed under the heat.

"NIDORINO! How did you beat him! I am so going to kill you! Go Rhyhorn!"

A stone plated rhinoceros stood on the field.

"… … Opponent stats confirmed. Lv. 21. Extremely high attack and defense… …"

Andy turned around. "Guys, I need a little help here." Celia sent in a semi-tired Totodile while Brian used Claws. When Claws saw the Rhyhorn and the Shade, he basically went into another mode. His hair stiffened. His eyes went red. He was just plain mad.

"Alright Claws! Use-" Claws dashed forward and landed a Slash on Rhyhorn. The attack didn't do much. Rhyhorn reared up and used Stomp. Totodile and Charmander dodged, while Claws rammed into the behemoth again. It still wasn't doing much.

"Totodile, Water Gun!" Totodile shot a stream of water. The supereffective attack landed a hit, sending Rhyhorn skidding a couple feet back. It charged Totodile.

"Charmander, use Ember!" The fireballs bounced right off. Claws jumped onto Rhyhorn's back and slashed at its neck. Rhyhorn felt pain and went crazy. It ran around in circles, trying to shake the Linoone off.

"Totodile, use Water Gun again!" Stream after stream of water hit the Rhyhorn.

"Now, time to shake things up. Rhyhorn, Earthquake!" Rhyhorn jumped into the air, then landed. An immense shockwave rippled through the field, knocking Charmander out and knocking Claws off Rhyhorn.

"Return, Charmander! Go Nidoran!" The purple little creature stared at Rhyhorn. It ran behind Andy's leg.

"Your friends are in danger, Nidoran! Go help them! Use Double Kick!" Nidoran reluctantly ran up to the Rhyhorn and used both its hind legs to kick Rhyhorn in the face. It did moderate damage, since it was a fighting attack.

"Rhyhorn, use Rock Throw!" Big chunks of rock knocked out Nidoran and almost Totodile.

Brian said, "I've got no choice. Treecko, Go!" He sent out a completely weak Treecko. He tossed him a Sitrus berry. After eating it, Treecko felt stronger.

"Alright! Absorb now!" A green energy blast connected with Rhyhorn. The cluster of tiny bubbles of energy returned to Treecko, healing it even more.

"Totodile! Use Water Gun!" "Treecko! Use Bullet Seed!" A repeated wave of Water Guns and Bullet Seeds knocked Rhyhorn farther back. It then flew straight toward Totodile and Treecko. The Horn Attack knocked Treecko back. Totodile blasted a cluster of bubbles at Rhyhorn, doing serious damage. But Rhyhorn charged Totodile again, this time, the attack hit its target.

Treecko and Totodile were getting up slowly.

Celia said to Brian, "Our only hope is a combined attack." Brian nodded.

"Totodile! Use Water Gun at Treecko!" "Treecko! Fire Bullet Seed in the air!"

Totodile shot Water Gun at Treecko from an angle. Treecko flew into the air. It launched a wave of Bullet Seed at Rhyhorn. The attack connected, sending Rhyhorn further back. Totodile was still firing a continuous stream of water at Rhyhorn. Then it shook off the attack and charged Totodile. She leaped out of the way in time.

Treecko spun his body around and around, giving the Pound attack more and more momentum. Then, when he came down, he flung his tail with the strongest push he had onto Rhyhorn's face. The tremendously powerful combo attack slammed Rhyhorn to the ground, finally defeating it.

"Alright!" Brian and Celia jumped in celebration. But something was happening to the Shade. A dark aura surrounded him. Then all his black and purple uniform burned off, revealing a young man dressed in a red shirt and overalls in his early 20's.

"When we defeated him we must have freed him!" The former Shade looked around and saw Brian, Celia, and Andy.

"I thank you three for freeing me from the bottom of my heart. His defeated Pokemon looked up with gratitude too.

"Just a small gift for you." He handed them some cash. He returned all his Pokemon.

Brian sat down. "Wow. That was a tough battle." The farmer looked at him. "But you won. I take it you guys are going to find a way in the Castle? Well, you can know that you've got an ally now! I'm gonna help you in any way I can, by beating any and every Shade that I meet!. Once again, thanks! Goodbye!"

It was nighttime, and the three had set up camp. They each had a sleeping bag that Christina's husband gave them. Brian and Celia ate their sandwiches while reflecting on the battle earlier in the day. Andy ate his alone. After they were done, they sat around their campfire. Brian had tried to light a fire about 10 times before Charmander torched him in the butt and lighted it for him.

Celia spoke up. "I've been thinking. About nicknames. You know, for our Pokemon."

Brian said, "That's a great idea!" Andy replied, "Sure…whatever."

"Well, I'm naming Totodile Kroc, and Pichu Flash." She released her Pokemon and they seemed satisfied with their new names.

"I'm gonna call Treecko Annoying Butthead." Treecko Pounded him on the head.

"Fine, fine. I'll call you…Zeck." Andy threw in a comment. "What kind of name is Zeck?" Celia defended him. "He can name his Pokemon whatever he thinks fits." Treecko, now Zeck, nodded his head in agreement.

"And Claws already has a nickname." Claws tried scratching Brian again. Brian started running in circles around the campfire trying to avoid Claws.

Celia spoke. "What about your Pokemon, Andy?" He thought for a moment. "Charmander will be Blaze, and Nidoran will be Nidor. Happy?" "Why yes I am."

With new names for their Pokemon and a few scratch marks for Brian, the heroes and their Pokemon went to sleep after a very tiring, yet productive, day..


	7. Fishing for a Battle

RS: Voidmoon: Andy's acting like who? I'm making him like any ordinary trainer. Smart. Handles situations well. Hates complaining. Oh. He's probably acting like Chad huh? Fine, I'll make him a little bit more optimistic and friendly. A LITTLE bit.

Sorry for not updating sooner. I had a lot of homework. I also had to do some stuff over the weekend.

Fishing for a Battle

It's been 2 days since the battle with the Shade. The three have entered a slightly wooded area. They met a traveler that told them about a lake in this direction. Celia wanted to check it out. But right now, she's having a bad hair day.

"Hey Celia, what's that thing on your head?" "What thiAAAAHHHHH!" A Spinarak was on top of her head, playing with her hair.

"KROC! HELP ME OUT!" The little crocodile looked at Celia for one moment, then burst out laughing.

"KROC! YOU EVIL LITTLE CREATURE! I SWEAR I'LL KI-AHHHHHH! GET IT OFF ME!"

"Celia, now you know how Claws treats me." Claws released himself and was about to slash Brian when he saw the Spinarak dangling on Celia's head. A split second later, Claws and Kroc were rolling around on the floor laughing at Celia. Andy just sighed. He walked over to Celia and tried helping her. But Celia was so panic-stricken she flailed her arms out and slapped Andy, leaving a red handprint on his face. He then charged, but was shot in the face with string shot.

"Ok, that's it. Blaze, Go!" Blaze came out.

"Blaze, use Ember now!" Celia screamed even louder. "I DON'T WANNA BE FRIED!" Blaze was about to fire the Ember, but then collapsed out of laughter when he saw Andy's face covered in web.

Brian was just standing there, staring at the pandemonium. (ooh, big word. Learned it in English class.) Kroc finally came to her senses and Water Gunned Celia. The Spinarak flew off and Celia was left there dripping wet. Blaze Scratched Andy's face, ripping off the web and leaving a scratch mark on Andy. Celia then turned around and stared at Kroc, who was still laughing with Claws. When she stared, Claws slowly backed away and returned himself. Kroc finally turned and saw Celia. She didn't look happy.

Long story short, after this scene Kroc will be in constant pain for a long time.

After leaving a couple of shoe prints on Kroc, Celia and the others went on. After walking for a couple of hours, they finally reached the lake.

Celia gasped at its beauty. The lake was glittering, with a little Pokemon and some people taking a sunbath or swimming a nice swim.

"Wow, it's hard to believe that something as beautiful as this can exist under a dark lord."

The three walked to the shore. A cool breeze blew through Celia's hair.

"Kroc, go take a swim. You too, Flash!" The Totodile and Pichu popped out. Flash had to drag the injured Kroc to the lake.

Zeck was sitting on a branch. Claws was catching some Z's under him. Blaze stayed by Andy while Nidor buried himself in the sand.

(switching to Pokemon language. In other words, the Pokemon will be talking in English. Any humans talking will be italicized.)

Kroc was swimming for a while with Flash clinging on to her tail.

"Ouch! Celia sure does kick hard." "Hey, you earned it. But I have to admit, that was kinda funny." Flash got tired after a while, and climbed onto Kroc's back. They swam for a couple of minutes before a Water Gun almost hit Flash. Kroc turned and saw a Squirtle glaring menacingly.

"Look at the BABY! He has to get carried around!" Kroc glared back. "HEY! He is a toddler! And what was that attack about?" The Squirtle grinned, then charged Totodile.

Kroc acted immediately. She fired Flash back onto the shore with a Water Gun and faced the Squirtle. But it was too late. The Skull Bash connected with full force. Kroc went under. She struggled, then finally came to. She tried a Water Gun, but only a rush of air blasted out.

"Oh yeah! I'm underwater!" "Duh, you retard!" Squirtle charged Kroc again. But this time she was prepared. Her eyes grew red, then she swam toward Kroc. Squirtle again used Skull Bash, trying to knock out Kroc. But she stopped abruptly before getting hit and swam up. Squirtle turned around and used Skull Bash again. But Kroc was quicker. She sped toward him then slammed her tail onto Squirtle's face. He flew out of the water and hit a tree. The tree just happened to have a sleeping Treecko in it and a sleeping Linoone under it.

When Squirtle got up, he found two very annoyed Pokemon staring at him.

"What do you think you're doing!" "I'm gonna shred you like a BBQ pork!" The Squirtle was frightened, but not out of control. He used Rapid Spin, trying to hit Zeck and Claws away. Zeck Bullet Seeded him until his shell was dented. Claws rushed in and Headbutted Squirtle back into the water where an angry Totodile was waiting.

"Serves you right!"

"_Hey! What do you think you're doing to Sheller?_" Zeck looked up and saw a skinny boy with a straw hat, blue jeans, and a red shirt. He snorted in disgust.

"What a wimpy trainer." "He's about the with of a straw!" Claws charged at him. But then a Thunder Wave coursed through his body. Zeck jumped up and pushed off a tree to try to hit the trainer. But another bolt of lightning hit him and paralyzed him as well. The 2 paralyzed Pokemon lay there on the ground.

(back to normal)

Celia, Andy, and Brian walked over to the trainer. Brian was shocked to see his Pokemon.

"My Pokemon!" Brian returned them. Kroc got out of the water and stood by Celia's side.

"Toto Toto Dile!" "Squirt Squirt!" "Chin Chou Chin!" A fish with 2 yellow antennae was floating in the water.

Brian exclaimed, "A Chinchou!" Celia looked at the trainer.

"Who do you think you are, attacking my Pokemon in the water like that?"

The trainer replied, "Well, my name is Will, and I guess Sheller can't stand to see pathetic water Pokemon like yours."

"Squirt Squirtle!" The Squirtle stuck its tongue at Kroc.

"PATHETIC? I'LL SHOW YOU PATHETIC! Kroc, lets battle this loser!" Kroc glared at the Squirtle. It glared back.

"How about a double battle, or is that weak Pichu the only other Pokemon you have?" Andy strode forward.

"I'll battle with her. Go Blaze!" The Charmander and Totodile stood ready for instructions.

"That all you fellas got? Shocker, use Thunderwave! Water Gun the Charmander, Sheller!" (I'm assuming you know who Shocker and Sheller are)

"Kroc, use Scary Face!" "Follow it up with Scratch, Blaze!" Before the Chinchou could attack, Kroc glared at it with menacing eyes. Shocker was scared to death. It hid underwater. Blaze then lunged at Sheller with a Scratch, landing a claw mark on Sheller's face.

"SQUIRTLE!" Sheller launched a point blank Water Gun at Blaze, sending it flying back.

"Blaze! You alright? Good, use Rage!" "Kroc, you too!" Both of their eyes grew red. They charged the unsuspecting Squirtle.

"What kinda wimpy attack is that? Sheller, Bubble the Charmander!" "He's got a name you know!" "Does it look like I care?"

Blaze jumped out of the way of the attack. Kroc slammed into Sheller.

"Sheller, use Skull Bash on the Totodile!" Sheller flew toward Kroc. She stood there, taking the attack full force. Her eyes grew redder.

"Well that was a dumb move, girl!" Brian smiled at the big mistake Will was making.

"Let's show that guy how DUMB that move was! Rage again!" Kroc flew at Sheller, using all her body weight on Sheller. He was thrown back at the attack.

"How'd it get so strong! Sheller, Skull Bash! Make sure it doesn't get up!" This time, Sheller's head lowered, and he was focusing energy into a powerful attack. Suddenly, an Ember attack torched his shell. Sheller turned around to see Blaze.

"Take care of that annoying Charmander first! Water Gun!" The stream of water knocked out Blaze.

"Blaze! Return!" "Kroc, Rage again!" The red-eyed Totodile charged into Sheller again, sending him flying. However, Sheller still refused to give up.

Celia, too, was astounded at the resilience of this Squirtle. Will explained. "My Sheller has an excellent defense. Those wimpy attacks won't be enough to take my Sheller out!" Sheller nodded his head in agreement.

"Fine! Use Bite!" Kroc opened her wide mouth and clamped down on Sheller. Unfortunately, Sheller had Withdrawn into his shell and Kroc cracked a couple of her teeth.

"Water Gun, Sheller!" "You too, Kroc!" Both of the contestants sucked in air, then blasted a stream of water. The attacks met halfway. They seemed to be equally powerful. Then Kroc's Water Gun pushed Sheller's back and back.

"Shocker, help Sheller out!" Shocker finally recovered from his cowardliness and used Thundershock on the current of water.

"Kroc, jump out of the way!" "Sheller, keep it up!" Kroc stopped her attack and jumped. Sheller continued the Water Gun assault. The Thundershock coursed through the current of water and zapped Sheller really hard.

"How'd that happen! Sheller, get up!" Sheller slowly rose to his feet. But before Shocker could react, Kroc had driven her tail onto Shocker's face, knocking the wind out of him.

Sheller finally got up and tried to ram his head into Kroc. Kroc nimbly dodged and slammed her tail onto Sheller's side, sending him flying back. He was obviously weakened.

"Kroc, finish him off with Surf!" Kroc concentrated really hard. She then jumped into the air and landed on the ground. A small crack ripped through the ground. Then a wave of water burst through ground and slammed into Sheller. After the attack resided, an unconscious Squirtle was laying there.

"Good job Kroc! Nice Surf attack!" Kroc gave a wide smile. Will was still shocked with his loss.

"I lost? I thought she was a wimpy trainer! I'll beat you…eventually…" With that, he returned his Pokemon with 2 stones, tossed a bit of cash onto the ground, then left.

Brian was surprised with Celia's victory as well. "It was a wonder that Kroc was still able to get up after that attack you onslaughted her with." Celia then flung her foot out at Brian, leaving a shoeprint on his face. She then threw Kroc some fruit, which she munched on happily.

"I have to admit, that was pretty good, mastering the Surf attack." Andy congratulated. "Good job, Celia." She smiled.

Suddenly, Claws released himself. Apparently, the paralysis had worn off. Claws looked left and right, trying to find the one who paralyzed him.

"Claws, the trainer left already. Celia and Andy beat him." Claws looked at Brian questionably, then scratched him for no apparent reason.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" Brian started chasing Claws. Everyone was laughing, except Brian.

* * *

(nighttime) The three have decided to set up camp right there at the lake. They sat around the campfire again. But this time, Andy was with them.

"We better pick up the training. The Rivet Town noble sounds hard from the info the people we've met have told us. There are probably a lot of Shades in the town square, so our Pokemon have to be ready."

"Yeah, I agree." Celia replied.

"We'll be ready for the noble. He'll get so badly whopped he won't know what hit him!"

Andy then looked at Brian. "Do you remember what happened when the noble's assistant battled you? He almost killed Zeck although you had the type advantage. I'm being serious. We have to be ready."

Brian sighed. "Fine fine. We'll train our butts off." Claws snorted, then slashed Brian again. Everyone had a good laugh, then they all went to bed.

Author's notes: Man, I only have one faithful reviewer:Voidmoon. Come on you all! It's not that hard to review! Even if you corrected my grammar or spelling I'd still appreciate it! Actually I won't, but that's not the point here. The point is, PLEASE REVIEW!

Ads: Generation V by Voidmoon. It's a great story. Lots of action and excitement. It even has a talking Bulbasaur! Read and review it!


	8. Middle of a War

RS: Voidmoon: Yep, there's always the loner. Thanks for the review.

Edward: Dude, have you read my first chapter! I don't own Pokemon or anything related to Pokemon. But I do own my original characters. And thanks for reviewing!

Middle of a War

(Pokenese)

"AAAHHH!" A Houndoom rammed its two horns curving backward onto a Mightyena which sent it flying back into a tree, toppling it. It let out a bone-chilling howl and fired an orb of dark energy that slammed into Houndoom, making him fly back. Flamethrowers and Shadow Balls were fired until the Mightyena finally couldn't keep up. Its side got roasted from a Flamethrower, which slowed it down considerably. The Houndoom turned around and used its rear legs and kicked the Mightyena, knocking him back. He was about to finish him when-

"_Whoa! Two wild Pokemon fighting! What's going on?" _The Houndoom looked up. A young boy with a Treecko on his shoulder was staring at him. With him were two others, a girl and another boy. The Houndoom snarled, then fired a Flamethrower. The boy narrowly dodged.

"_Let's take this thing! Zeck, go!" "Brian, you are an idiot. It's a fire type!" "So?" "Zeck's a grass type, retard!" "He can take him anyday! Zeck, use Pursuit!" _

Zeck's whole body turned slightly black. He jumped, then zoomed down at the Houndoom, slamming into him with dark energy blasted everywhere. The Houndoom was surprised at the speed of the tiny little threat. He fired a Flamethrower, which was dodged by the nimble Treecko.

"Well, the midget is pretty good." The Houndoom taunted. Zeck responded, "Well, I don't see any of your bursts of flame hit this MIDGET!" Zeck then used Pursuit again, knocking the Houndoom back against a tree.

"Your tougher than I thought, midget." "Looks can be deceiving, butthead." Another Flamethrower was fired. Treecko used Quick Attack to rush toward a tree, push off, and slam its tail onto Houndoom's face.

"_Good job Zeck!" _Zeck grinned, then jumped up into the air. He spun around violently, getting momentum for his Pound attack. Houndoom saw this and used Flamethrower again. This time, it looked as though the Treecko wouldn't be free of a burn mark. But Treecko's tail suddenly glowed white. It even startled Andy. The glowing tail slammed into the fire attack, negating it. It went on and on until it slammed Houndoom into the dirt.

"Wow, I surprise even myself."

(Normal)

Brian curiously asked, "Zeck, what happened?" Andy explained. "Zeck somehow managed to learn Iron Tail during that battle. Iron Tail is an extremely powerful attack, only its accuracy is somewhat lower than normal attacks."

"All right then! Use Iron Tail!" Zeck's tail glowed white again. But this time, Houndoom was ready. Black fangs appeared in front of Houndoom. He charged, the fangs clamping down on Zeck, severely injuring him. The Crunch attack basically disabled Zeck.

"Zeck! You ok?" Celia nodded to Andy. She said to Brian, "You're obviously gonna need help. Flash, go!" "You too Nidor!" The two Pokemon appeared. Nidor ran behind Andy's legs, cowering. The Houndoom made a sound that sounded like a hoarse laugh. Flash boldly walked up to Houndoom. He yelled, "Pi Pi Pi Chu!", then sent a Thunder Wave into Houndoom, paralyzing it instantly. The attack tired Flash out. He collapsed.

"Nidor, use Horn Attack, now!" Nidor's horn grew white, then slammed into the defenseless Houndoom. It was sprawled on the ground. Houndoom then howled. It scared Flash back into its Pokeball. Suddenly, 4 Houndour and another Houndoom appeared from behind the trees. Everyone sent out their remaining Pokemon.

"Claws, use Slash!" Claws ducked out of the way of a Bite attack, then slashed the gut of a Houndour, instantly subduing it. Blaze set a Houndour's butt on fire, while Kroc was kind enough to put it out…and send it flying into a tree too. Claws then Headbutted a Houndour into the last one, taking them all out. Only the Houndoom was left. But then about 8 Poochyena sprung out from the bushes. They all latched their teeth onto Houndoom. Andy, Brian, and Celia just stared at the poor Houndoom getting obliterated. But then the paralyzed Houndoom managed to fire a Flamethrower at the Poochyena, scattering them immediately. Then the Houndoom and Houndour gang retreated. During the fighting, the injured Mightyena managed to slip away unnoticed.

Brian wiped his forehead. "Wow, that was some strange battle." Then a man came out. He had a black sleeveless shirt and green shorts. His brown hair was covered by his green cap.

"Are you guys hurt?" They shook their heads. "Well, my name's Mike. I live a little bit away from here. You guys wanna come to my place?"

Brian said, "Of course! Let's go. Besides, Zeck here is hurt, and he needs help." The four of them walked a little. Then they approached a clearing. A snug little log house was in front of a small garden. A Houndour puppy and Poochyena puppy bounded toward Mike. Brian was instantly terrified.

"AAAHHH! They're gonna attack us! Claws get ready!" Claws bared his teeth. But the two puppies jumped into Mike's arms. They licked him happily, letting him know he was gone too long.

"Hahaha! Stop! It tickles!" He set them on the ground. When the Houndour saw Claws, he ran behind Mike.

Andy said to Nidor, "You're just like him." Nidor sniffled, then dug a hole in the ground which he jumped into. Andy sighed.

But then the Poochyena jumped up and bared its teeth at Claws. Claws just looked at it and growled. The puppy ran up to Claws and bit him on the arm. It didn't hurt, but Claws was annoyed. He flung the Poochyena at Mike. Brian tried calming Claws down.

"Claws, its just a puppy!" Claws scratched Brian, then went to sleep on the ground. Celia just said, "It's always doing that." They left Claws and Nidor outside and walked in Mike's house. There was a couch and a table in the middle. He went into another room that had a bed in it. He took out some drinks and snacks and let his guests munch on them.

"These are my two Pokemon, Grey-" The Houndour barked. "-and Black." The Poochyena barked.

Brian asked, "These are your only Pokemon?"

Mike nodded his head. He then said while tending to Zeck's wounds, "Those two used to have brothers. A Mightyena named Fang and a Houndoom named Skull. I had them about 10 years ago. Those two never got along. They always fought and fought. I had to put them in separate rooms. But they always got to each other and fought even more. Eventually, I had to give them away to different people. They ran away from their owners, obviously going to find a way to kill the other. Then I heard a rumor about an escaped Houndoom and Mightyena roaming around the forest a little bit farther than the Forbidden Woods. So I moved here, trying to get Skull and Fang back. I've been around Poochyena and Houndour my whole life. They just won't have random fights unless they have a purpose. I'm guessing Skull and Fang have assembled larges packs to fight against the other pack. All the Poochyena, Houndour, Houndoom, and Mightyena I've seen are all on edge lately. They're probably going to fight pretty soon."

The three listened to this elaborate story. Suddenly, there was a noise outside. An injured Poochyena crashed through the door. It got up and rushed back out, only to get hit by another Poochyena flying after an attack. The four went outside to find Claws and Nidor fighting off about 15 Poochyena and 4 Mightyena.

(Pokenese)

"We could use some help here!" Claws yelled while fending off a Mightyena. Nidor rammed a Poison Sting at the Mightyena. It was knocked back. Several Poochyena ganged up on Claws. They all jumped at him with Bite at the same time. But then the Poochyena looked confused. The Linoone had disappeared.

"Where'd that thing go?" "Look out!" Claws burst up from the ground and knocked out 3 Poochyena with the Dig attack. Zeck and the other came onto the scene with Ember, Water Gun, and Bullet Seed, scattering all the Poochyena. They now faced 4 Mightyena, one severely injured with poison.

"Blaze, cover me!" Zeck yelled. He jumped forward. Blaze fired an Ember attack at the Mightyena. Three of them jumped away. Zeck Pounded the poisoned and injured one, fainting it. Three Shadow Balls were flung at Zeck. But they were destroyed by a Water Gun from Kroc. Claws rushed at a Mightyena, tearing at it. Kroc and Zeck were far range attacking a Mightyena. Blaze and Nidor were teaming up against another one.

"Die you black-haired demon!" Claws sliced at it. It tore through Mightyena's forearm. It ran away whimpering. Blaze yelled, "Nidor, spear him after this!" Blaze pointed his tail at the Mightyena and blasted it with a Flare attack. Then Nidor rammed another Poison Sting into the Mightyena. It lay on the ground fainted. The one Kroc and Zeck were fighting was considerably stronger than the other ones. It blasted a Shadow Ball at Zeck, which he dodged. Kroc fired a Water Gun, but the Mightyena flew out of the way. The others then ran up to help Kroc and Zeck.

"Fire like crazy!" Zeck blasted a wide Bullet Seed attack, Kroc used Surf, Blaze fired a huge Flamethrower, Nidor shot Poison Stings out of its horn, and Claws kicked lots of sand at the Mightyena. After blindly shooting for so long, they took a look. A lot of trees were toppled, the ground was soaked here and fried there. The Mightyena was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Kroc asked. Blaze answered, "I dunno. Where'd he…go?"

Blaze had turned around and what he saw was a very hopeless situation. He saw the Mightyena they were fighting. He took a closer look at it. It had a scar running down his neck. A bolt of black ran across its face. It was bigger than the rest of the Mightyena. But that wasn't what made the scene hopeless. The fact that there were 20 other Mightyena behind it, that made it hopeless.

Blaze said, "That big one must be Fang. Look, if we can take it out, they won't have a leader. Claws, You and I will go after Fang. The rest of you, fend off the other Mightyena. Your goal is to make sure they don't get to me and Claws. Use far range attacks so they will have a smaller chance of hitting you, got it?" They all nodded. Blaze used Rage and Claws started with a Quick Attack. A Shadow Ball flew past him. He saw a couple of Mightyena fall from Water Guns, Bullet Seeds, and Poison Stings. He saw Fang right in front of him. But Fang disappeared and a claw fused with dark energy hit him across the back. Blaze hit Fang with a Flamethrower, but he quickly got back up after that Faint Attack. He disappeared again. This time, Claws turned around and Slashed at the reappearing Mightyena. It took the critical hit and flew back. A stray Shadow Ball zinged across Claws's head. He looked up and saw the other 4 still fighting 15 Mightyena.

"Kroc, look out!" An Absorb blasted a Shadow ball to shreds. The gang had toppled a couple of trees and made dug a hole for a defensive position. "Thanks Zeck! AAHHH!" Kroc focused, then a wave of water crashed down, knocking out a lot of Mightyena. There were about 10 left. Poison Stings hit their mark on another Mightyena, causing it to collapse. But then something strange happened. All the Mightyenas' eyes turned pure black. A ball of energy appeared that floated above the fighting field. Suddenly, it became nighttime. All the Mightyena had an aura of darkness around them.

"Kroc, what just happened? My attacks are much weaker now!"

Kroc fired another Water Gun, but it was weaker than usual. The Mightyena that took the attack shrugged it off and fired a Shadow Ball. Before it could hit Kroc, a Thunderbolt hit the blast. Kroc turned around.

"Flash where are you?" She finally saw Flash, but Flash had become a Pikachu! Flash fired dozens of Thunder Waves, paralyzing the Mightyena. They fell wave after wave until the only things opposing them were paralyzed Mightyenas. But then, beams shot out of the black energy ball above the field. The Mightyenas got up, and resumed fighting.

"Aw, man! We are doomed!"

* * *

Claws lunged at Fang. His claws just missed him, but Claws was caught in the back by another Faint Attack. Blaze flung his burning tail at Fang, burning him. Fang turned and fired a barrage of Shadow Balls, almost taking out Blaze. Blaze fired a Flamethrower, negating some of the Shadow Balls. Meanwhile, Claws snuck up behind Fang and dug his claws into Fang's back. Blood was pouring out. Fang jumped up into the air, shook off Claws, and planted both of his hind legs onto Claws's gut. Claws fell down on the ground, hard. He didn't get up.

Blaze shot an Ember at Fang. It was cancelled out by a vicious Crunch attack. Fang shot a Shadow Ball and

* * *

The ground near Zeck exploded. The multiple Shadow balls thrown by these relentless Mightyena were overpowered. Zeck looked up at the ball of energy floating high in the sky. He then rushed out of their little bunker and dashed up a tree. He pushed off and used Iron Tail on the energy ball. It dispersed. The battlefield turned back into daylight again. Then the Mightyenas' auras disappeared.

Kroc yelled, "My attacks are back to normal!" Another wave of water crashed down, knocking out even more Mightyena. Kroc was tired out. But then a Shadow ball hit their makeshift bunker and destroyed it. They all ran out and started attacking close range. Kroc slammed her tail on a Mightyena's face. It retaliated by shooting a point blank Shadow Ball. Kroc jumped just in the nick of time. The Shadow Ball's explosion knocked out the Mightyena.

Zeck Pounded and Pounded a Mightyena repeatedly on the head. He finally used Iron Tail, taking out yet another Mightyena.

Nidor kept firing Poison Stings in random directions, blasting a lot of trees. But the Mightyena kept retreating in fear of getting hit.

Flash jumped into the air and generated electricity in his body. He discharged it all in his body and slammed into a Mightyena. The Discharge attack knocked the Mightyena out cold. But another Mightyena jumped at Flash and was about to hit him when a blast of fire hit him full force. Flash turned around and didn't see Blaze, but saw a big Houndoom leading a pack of 5 Houndoom. The big Houndoom had a third horn that curved backward like his other two horns.

Flash gasped. "Skull is here!"

* * *

Blaze took a bad hit after that Shadow Ball attack. He could barely get up. Suddenly, Claws sped at Fang with a full on Tackle, knocking him to the side. Fang got up and blasted Claws with a Shadow Ball. Claws fell on the ground. Blaze immediately moved in front of Claws to defend him. Fang was about to finish Blaze when Fang suddenly stopped. Blood veins in his eyes showed. He howled, signaling the other Mightyena to follow him. He ran toward the direction of the others.

"Claws, you alright?" "Ugh… I thought we were finished!"

* * *

Zeck saw the pack of Mightyena shift gears and attack the Houndoom. It was a vicious battle. But what captured his attention was the big Mightyena fighting the big Houndoom. Fang and Skull were biting and firing at each other.

However, the Houndoom appeared to be winning, since they were fresh, and the Mightyena suffered from the other Pokemon's attacks. Fang, still blind with malice, had to be pulled away in retreat by another Mightyena. The Houndoom laughed at the Mightyena, then retreated into the woods too. Zeck's good eye caught movement in the thickets, and saw a Shade running away. _That can't be good…_

(Normal)

All the humans were tending to the Pokemon's injuries. Brian was constantly with Claws. He was terribly worried about him.

Celia thought _Wow. I've never seen this side of Brian before. He cares deeply for his Pokemon, even Claws who doesn't listen to him. _

Black and Grey were scurrying around, obviously nervous about having their brothers around again.

After bandaging a wound on Claws, Brian stood up. "We are going to put an end to this war, whether Fang and Skull like it, or not…"

* * *

Author's Notes: Wow…one of my longer chapters. Haha, what will be the conclusion of this epic rivalry? Find out next time on The Castle of the Howling Moon! (that is so cheesy, so cheesy I could eat it… mmm… cheesy…)

And if you're wondering, I have Sapphire version, and I have a lv. 60 Blaziken, lv. 60 Aggron, lv. 58 Sceptile, lv. 46 Swampert, lv. 45 Linoone, and lv. 46 Flygon. I think legendary Pokemon are so cheap. That's why I try not to use them, but they are extremely tempting. LoL.


	9. Brotherly Love

RS: Voidmoon: My only faithful reviewer. We should have a holiday: Voidmoonday. Celebrated for being the only faithful reviewer of The Castle of the Howling Moon. We thank you!

Vickie: lol…Claws is almost the highest level Pokemon. Besides, he picked on weak Pokemon, so he didn't get so much exp.

And I'm not going to bother with the other reviews. Chapter 9! It has such a fluffy title!

Brotherly Love

(Pokenese)

A Mightyena walked up to Fang, who was tending to his wounds.

"Fang, when should we strike?" He replied, "Tonight, we use all our forces and take out the Houndoom squad."

"What about those humans and their Pokemon?" "They are all weak. They won't be a big threat. Just concentrate on the Houndoom and Houndour. Now get our army ready."

* * *

Claws was lying on the ground with a bandage on its side and gut. Zeck was sitting across from him. 

"Claws, you know anything about that strange attack the Mightyena used?" Zeck asked.

Claws looked at Zeck for a moment, then said, "The Shade that killed my family, his Pokemon used that attack. It lowered my stats, all of them. Everything was decreased. His Graveler suddenly used Shadow Ball. It had that same black aura those Mightyena had. A friend of the family, a Butterfree, was helping us fight. It used Stun Spore to Paralyze it. But the orb just healed the Graveler. The Shade's Pokemon were all beefed up too. That's all I know."

Zeck thought for a moment. _If that attack decreases our stats and increases theirs, then we will be at a major disadvantage. But during the battle I was able to destroy the orb. So, destroying that orb is our first priority. _

(Normal)

Brian walked in to the room. Celia and Mike were talking about the battle about to take place. Andy was sitting on a chair, thinking really hard.

Brian said, "I thought of a strategy. We take out Skull and Fang, then we're done! Without the head, the body can't survive!" Celia said to him, "Yeah, but Skull and Fang are really high level. Blaze AND Claws, the strongest Pokemon we have, double teamed Fang and they still lost." Andy spoke up. "Our main advantage is their hatred toward each other. They will concentrate mainly on the other side than pay attention to us. So we should use stealth and try to take them out with one hit."

Brian still asked, "But where do we go? The humans, I mean. Do we watch from the side, or beat the Mightyena and Houndoom with tree branches?"

"I think we should stay out of danger. Our Pokemon should be able to take care of themselves." Celia nodded. Brian said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." Black and Grey were barking now and then, from the tension. Everyone seemed to dread the big battle about to take place. But Zeck wasn't thinking of the coming battle, but trying to remember something that had slipped his mind. The Shade that hadrun away.

The group's Pokemon were scattered around the area surrounding Mike's house. It was dark, and an air of silence was upon them all.

* * *

(Pokenese) 

Kroc had decided to scout with Zeck. They went deeper into the forest, until they emerged out of it. They saw the Forbidden Woods surrounding the Castle off in the distance. The field they had come across had a river run through. It separated the field into two. A well worn road went through here. It lead all the way to Utila.

"Do you see anything Zeck?" "No. But they are pretty dark colored. They'll be hard to spot."

Zeck jumped on top of a boulder. He scanned the forest they had come out of. He saw movements and several black forms come out. The Mightyena. They hid themselves in good positions for attack. Zeck and Kroc hid behind the large boulder. They saw a pack of Houndoom move from the other side of the forest. They separated and looked for the enemy.

"Zeck, let's get back to the others." "No, we should stay here. If we go back, one of them might see us." So they waited. It was still silent. Both of the sides didn't know they were right next to each other.

One of the Mightyena had wandered off to the side. It was walking along when it almost tripped over something. It was a black and orange boulder with horns. It kept moving. Then it stopped and turned around. He finally realized it wasn't a boulder. The Houndoom howled and blasted the Mightyena with a Flamethrower attack. (lol, the blast heard round the world.)

All over the field the Mightyena and Houndoom engaged in combat. Streams of fire and black orbs flew around. There were at least 60 of them on each side.

"Kroc, how do we tell the others?" "Don't need to. They're already here." Zeck scanned for them and saw a flash of yellow spark up the night. A small blur rushed through and sped toward them. It jumped and landed behind them. When Zeck and Kroc turned around, they saw a bleeding Mightyena being beat up by Claws. He yelled through the fight, "You guys owe me!" Zeck and Kroc ran off to help fight the others too.

Flash and Nidor were working together. As a Houndoom or Mightyena got near, Flash would use Thunder Wave to paralyze them, then Nidor would deliver a Horn Attack to the helpless victim. After a while, there were quite a lot of injured and paralyzed Mightyena and Houndoom lying around them.

Zeck and Kroc fought side by side. Zeck Iron Tailed a Mightyena, pushed off of it, and Kroc fired a stream of water at the Mightyena. It flew backward. Suddenly, it turned into daytime. The sun was shining brightly. One of the Houndoom had used Sunny Day. The Flamethrowers were way stronger than the Mightyena could handle now, so they had to constantly dodge.

Blaze thought _We should even out the odds to maintain our neutral advantage._

He jumped and brought his flaming tail down on a Houndoom's face, leaving scorch marks on him. The Houndoom got angry and used a Crunch attack. Blaze dodged, and shot a Flamethrower, taking the Houndoom out.

Fang mercilessly clamped down on a poor Houndoom. Then he blasted a point blank Shadow Ball at him, sending him flying. Fang was still searching for Skull when the Linoone he battled yesterday lunged at him. Fang dodged, and fired another Shadow Ball. The Linoone made copies of himself, hiding his true position. That tactic didn't work against Fang. He sniffed out the Linoone's scent and fired a Shadow Ball to the Linoone directly in front of him. It exploded, and all the clones disappeared. Fang smiled, and was about to run off to fight some more when a quick white form flew down and slashed him across the back.

"So, Linoone. I've underestimated you." "Heh. That's a mistake you'll truly regret!" Claws Slashed at Fang, but he easily dodged and bit Claws's hind leg. He winced in pain, turned around and Headbutted Fang. He was sent flying back into another Mightyena. Claws grinned and got ready for round 2.

Fang then used the same attack that the Mightyena used last time. It became nighttime again. But the Houndoom retaliated by using Sunny Day again. This kept happening until they cancelled each other out.

* * *

Blaze made another Houndoom extra crispy. Then he turned around and saw Skull. Blaze charged, firing Embers along the way. Skull dodged by jumping over the flame attack. It charged up a ball of fire in its mouth. Blaze saw this opportunity and used his Flare attack. It caught Skull off guard and roasted him badly. Skull plopped to the floor, seemingly beaten. But then he got back up and Crunched at Blaze. Blaze dodged, but his arm was clamped. He turned around and fired another Ember at Skull. Skull negated it with a Flamethrower. Smoke was everywhere. Skull couldn't see. Blaze ran toward Skull with a Headbutt that made Skull see stars. But he quickly recovered and shot a point blank Flamethrower, knocking Blaze back. Blaze retaliated by using Smokescreen to block off Skull's sight.

* * *

The temporary darkness in the night that Fang created had healed all the paralyzed Mightyena. Flash and Nidor were instantly knocked out by 10 quick Shadow Balls fired by the healed Mightyena. 

Claws ducked out of the way of a Shadow Ball. He rushed under Fang and sliced at his stomach. Fang jumped in time to avoid a stomach injury but couldn't avoid another cut that sliced his leg. Blood spilled out and Fang was very angry. He blasted 3 Shadow Balls in a row. Claws dodged the first two but he was sent flying by the third. He was so wounded he could barely get up. Fang was about to finish him when a combination of Bullet Seed and Water Gun shoved Fang to the side.

"We're even now!" Zeck yelled as he jumped over a Shadow Ball. Fang was facing three opponents now. He decided to take out the Linoone first, then the Treecko and Totodile.

"Claws, you alright?" Kroc asked worriedly. "I'm fine. Focus on the battle." "Kroc, combo attack now!" Zeck flipped backward, landing on a Houndoom. He collapsed under Zeck. Kroc made a tower of water burst under Zeck, sending him flying into the air. Zeck then fired a stream of Bullet Seed at Fang. But he dodged and shot Shadow Ball back at him. Zeck Iron Tailed it, and fired Absorb. It connected, healing Zeck in the process. Meanwhile, Claws dug underground and surfaced under Fang, surprising him. He lost balance and was knocked to the ground by Claws. Zeck came down with a powerful Iron Tail that sent Fang flying into a boulder, smashing it into little bits. He got back up and snarled.

Kroc then heard Celia scream and ran to help.

* * *

(Normal) 

Brian and the others were having trouble of their own. They were inside Mike's cabin when Celia saw 4 Houndoom and 3 Mightyena rush out of the woods.

"AAAHHH! They're here!" The Pokemon were fighting outside. A Houndoom busted through the door and saw the people.

"Black, Grey, you guys are our only hope! Use Tackle you two!" Black could be seen as a black blur that bounced off the big Houndoom. Grey was scared stiff.

"Grey, Black needs your help!" He was still rooted to the spot. Meanwhile, Grey was tugging at the Houndoom's foot with his fangs. The Houndoom brushed him aside with is other paw and headed for the humans. Andy grabbed a log from the unused fireplace and swung at the Houndoom. The Houndoom backed up a few feet. Brian grabbed a chair and brought it down on the Houndoom's head. It was dizzy from the blow. Black came back in with a Bite attack, chomping the Houndoom's foot. The pain brought it back to its senses and it fired a Flamethrower that turned the chair Brian was holding into burnt wood.

Andy threw the log at Houndoom and grabbed another. Houndoom dodged the blow and lunged at Andy. Mike tackled Houndoom before he reached Andy and they both tumbled outside. Mike was wrestling the Houndoom when 2 other Houndoom came to help. They had defeated the Mightyena and were going to rip Mike to shreds when a Water Gun knocked out one of them. Kroc was standing behind them with a glare that said don't-you-dare-mess-with-my-friends.

"KROC! YOU'RE HERE TO SAVE US! Use Water Gun again!" The stream of water missed as the 2 Houndoom jumped out of the way and headed toward their foe. Kroc flung her tail out and fired another Water Gun. Her tail slammed into one of the Houndoom's face and the Water Gun hit the other. They both got up and fired Flamethrower at the same time. Kroc took both the attacks and was a panting heavily. The Houndooms rushed in with Crunch, only to be hit by a large blast of water. One more fainted. But the last one charged up energy, then used Mega Drain. The energy blast exploded onto Kroc, healing the Houndoom. Kroc flew back and hit the cabin. The Houndoom got ready for a final Crunch attack when Brian knocked it out by breaking a chair on his head.

"Kroc!" Celia rushed to her injured Pokemon. Kroc smiled weakly, then fainted.

* * *

(Pokenese) 

Zeck and Claws were left alone to fight Fang.

"Claws, I want you to launch me at him with your tail." "You sure this will work?" "Somewhat positive." "…"

Claws spun around and smacked Zeck with his tail. Zeck flew toward the Mightyena leader and launched a fast Pound attack that caught Fang in the gut when he reared up to jump. Zeck sidestepped a Bite attack and treated Fang with an Iron Tail to the face. Fang toppled over, but got back up, determined to win. Zeck jumped backward and smacked his tail on Claws, sending him flying toward Fang. Claws curled up into a ball. The speeding white ball zoomed into Fang. But he jumped over it, only to be met by a Pound in the face. Thenhe blasted a Shadow Ball, sending Zeck flying back. He landed with a thump. He slowly got back up to see Fang take out Claws with another Shadow Ball.

Blaze saw Skull through the smoke. Skull was struggling to attack Blaze, but couldn't see anything. Blaze used this to his advantage and repeatedly used Ember on Skull. The only thing Skull could do was randomly fire. Bursts of flame shot out from the smoke. One hit Blaze in the face. Skull heard the Charmander cry out and rushed in the direction of the sound. He used a Crunch attack and a beaten Blaze laid in front of him. Skull turned around, torched a Mightyena, and ran off in search of Fang.

Zeck jumped over a powerful Take Down. Fang turned around and used it again. Zeck ducked and Fang flew over him. Zeck jumped again and shot Bullet Seed at Fang when he charged. They connected with Fang, sending him back. He blasted Shadow Balls at Zeck. He quickly Pounded them and rushed toward Fang with a white trajectory following him. The Quick Attack knocked Fang back even more. Fang stopped battling, howled, then ran off. Zeck was confused, then decided to follow.

* * *

(Normal) 

Black sniffed the ground, then got all excited. He ran over to Grey and they both ran off in the direction of the battle.

Mike, whose wounds were being tended to by Celia, tried going after them, but collapsed. Brian chased them into the woods.

* * *

(Pokenese) 

Zeck then understood why Fang ran off. He saw Skull at the other end of the battlefield, racing toward Fang. Fang rushed toward Skull too. Seconds before meeting each other, Fang used Shadow Ball and Skull fired a Flamethrower. An explosion rocked the field, knocking out the Mightyena and Houndoom near them. There were still about 20 left on each side.

Fang tore at Skull, but only bit air. Skull had circled around and kicked Fang with his hind legs. The Double Kick was super effective, knocking Fang back really far. Zeck barged in with Bullet Seed, which increased the anger of the combatants. They ignored Zeck completely.

Skull shot another Flamethrower. Fang rolled under it and bit Skull at the shoulder. Skull shook off Fang and Double Kicked again. Fang jumped over Skull and blasted him with a Shadow Ball in midair. Skull was hurt, but not beaten. He fired yet another Flamethrower. This time, the attack met its mark. A burning Mightyena crashed down in front of Skull. But Fang still got up. He spun around so quickly the flame flew off and struck Skull in the face. He was slightly fazed, but that was enough for Fang to launch a Shadow Ball that exploded right in front of him. Both of them flew back, unable to accept defeat as an option. Suddenly, a defeated Houndoom flew past them. It was quickly followed by a Mightyena. Fang and Skull both turned their heads to see 10 Shades with 9 Graveler. One of them had a Golem.

_So the Shade I saw run off yesterday informed the main squad to come here. This is bad… _Zeck thought.

Fang and Skull turned back at each other and continued fighting. The remaining Mightyena and Houndoom focused their main attention on each other, leaving them defenseless against the Graveler and Golem. Huge boulders were tossed at the battlers, knocking them out instantly. Fang's and Skull's number of troops were getting smaller and smaller. Only about 8 were left on each side.

Zeck had charged in to attack the Shades' Pokemon when he saw Black and Grey run out from the forest with Brian hot on their tails. Brian stopped when he saw Zeck.

_Zeck! I'm assuming everyone else is K.O.ed. Okay then. Let's finish this ourselves! Zeck, Bullet Seed the Golem!_

Zeck charged at the Golem. He pushed off its hard shell, then launched an onslaught of Bullet Seed at the Golem. It dented its shell, but then it spun around and rammed Zeck. He flew back and almost fainted.

Fang and Skull were still fighting when a boulder struck Skull. He toppled over.Fang laughed at this. But then he quickly followedSkull when a Mega Punch hit him on his side. He rolled over and laid on the ground. He struggled to get up. The Graveler lifted its massive arm and brought it down on Fang. A small black and orange blur got in the way. Skull's eyes widened in horror. _Why, Grey? Why?_

The crumpled form of Grey lay beside Fang. Fang was really surprised. Black then rushed in to help his friend. But Fang stopped him and told him to go back. Black reluctantly agreed to his brother's command. Skull then erupted. An Overheat attack blasted the Graveler to oblivion. Fang got up and looked at Skull. Skull nodded.

"Alright Houndoom!" "Mightyena!" All over the field the fighting stopped. They looked at their respective leaders. Then they charged at the Graveler. Mightyena launched Shadow Balls while the Houndoom attacked with Double Kick. One by one, the Graveler fell. But then a giant shockwave rippled through the field. Stalagmites rushed up in the ground. All the Mightyena and Houndoom were knocked out. Only Fang, Skull, and Zeck remained.

"This overgrown cave monster is going down!" Fang launched a Shadow Ball that was quickly followed by a Flamethrower. Golem easily deflected them with a Mega Punch. Zeck crept up behind him and Iron Tailed him. He rolled forward for a few feet, then threw chunks of rock at Zeck. He jumped over them and fired Bullet Seed while another Shadow Ball and Flamethrower were launched. But Golem's high defense proved to be too much of a challenge.

"Fools! You puny weaklings can't beat me!" He hit the ground with a Mega Punch, sending a row of stalagmites rushing toward the three. They got out of the way just in time.

"Fang, Skull. I've got an idea. But I need your help." "We're listening." "Both of you, use Shadow Ball and Overheat when I tell you to." "But won't they cancel each other out?" "Just trust me."

Zeck dodged another Rock Throw, then yelled, "NOW!" Fang blasted a giant Shadow Ball. The Overheat attack rushed toward the Shadow Ball. Just as they were about to hit, Zeck rushed in and brought his glowing tail down. The Iron Tail crashed down on the two powerful attacks. They mixed together into a reddish blackish orb. Zeck spun around and gave it one final boost with the strongest Iron Tail he had. The super Shadow Ball/Overheat combo blew into Golem.A massiveexplosion followed.After the dust cleared, a crater was where the Golem had been. His battered and cracked body lay in the center of the crater.

Zeck fell down from exhaustion.He whispered, "We did it…" Then darkness enveloped him.

* * *

The trainers retrieved their Pokemon scattered across the battlefield. They found Grey's body and brought him to Mike's cabin. He did the best he could, but he couldn't help him. Skull was by his side the whole time. Black tried licking Fang's wounds, but he was too short. So he jumped all over Fang and got saliva all over his body. The very wet Fang walked up to Skull. 

"I'm sorry Skull… I should've taken that hit."

Skull replied, "…Well…I don't have control over Grey's will. I guess he saw the good side of you that I failed to notice. And because of that, I lost my brother. Only by sacrificing himself did I finally see that we shouldn't hurt each other, but help each other instead." Skull sighed, then took one last look at Grey. He turned around and was about to leave when something tugged at his tail. He looked back and to his immense joy, found his injured brother weakly biting him. Skull yelped, then ran back and almost crushed Grey with his embrace. Everyone clapped, then laughed when Grey choked. Black nuzzled his close friend and the four of them knew that the bond they shared was closer than it had ever been before.

(Normal)

Andy looked at the happiness in the room. He walked out the cabin and looked at the rising sun. Brian came out too.

"So, happy ending for everyone, right?"

Andy smiled. "Not for that Golem that Zeck crushed." Brian laughed.

"What happened to those 10 Shades?" "4 of them used to be farmers on Christina's farm. They're going to journey back. The other six are going to Utila. I guess they were shop owners or something."

"I still can't figure out that attack that Fang used." "Mike told me about it. Only a Pokemon with a dark heart bent on evil and destruction can use it. It's called Black Shadow attack. It turns the user into a dark type, along with its original types. The user is allowed to use Shadow Ball. All of its stats are increased by 25 percent. All dark/ghost types in the area won't be afflicted with status conditions. All dark/ghost types' health will be constantly healed slowly. And lastly, all non-dark/ghost types' stats will be lowered by 10. It's a pretty cheap attack, giving the user an unfair advantage. But since Fang and Skull reconciled, Fang won't be able to use it anymore."

"Wow… What are we doing next?" "We're leaving tomorrow morning. We will be traveling to Rivet Town to fight the noble. Only about 2 more days of traveling and we will be there."

Zeck and Blaze came out. Zeck hopped on Brian's shoulder. Brian grinned then said, "I know we will be able to beat this noble guy. He's gonna be sorry he ever signed up for the job."

"Uh… the King of Shadows chose him. He didn't volunteer."

"Fine. He's gonna be sorry that the King of Shadows thought his potential was good so he chose him to be the Noble of Rivet town."

"… isn't that a good thing?"

Brian scratched his head. "Hm… I don't know, actually." Zeck sighed, then Pounded Brian on the head. Zeck, Blaze, and Andy laughed till their stomachs hurt.

"We should get some sleep. We are going to do some serious training tomorrow."

"Okay then. Onward, to Rivet Town!"

* * *

Author's Notes: My longest chapter yet! (I think). Phew! This took me a while! Review it! Oh, and tell me if the blood is too gory or not. 


	10. Hard Cold Steel

Okay, chapter 9 was a bit too gory with the blood and all that. Therefore, I'm changing the rating to T. But it's only for the blood, not for any cussing, or suggestive themes or any other bad stuff. Only slight, little, gory blood.

RS: Voidmoon: Haha. The fluffiness was cool. But I prefer nonfluffiness. Fluffiness is hard to write. Thanks for the review! (changed the rating)

nanC: lol, then I hope you get bored more often! Thanks for the review!

Nonreviewersofmystory: review or die! But read it first…

Now someone finally gets a third Pokemon…

  
Hard Cold Steel

"Finish it with Thundershock!" A small yellow blur flew up into the air and sent a bolt of lightning at a white and brown raccoon. It fell down with sparks flying out from its fur.

The Pikachu jumped into a young girl's arms. She laughed and petted it. "Good job Flash!" The electric mouse said its name with satisfaction.

"You toasted that Zigzagoon pretty fast." Brian said. "Flash is getting better."

"He's right." Andy agreed. "Flash is gaining a lot of experience battling these wild Pokemon."

The three continued on the road. Flash was still in Celia's arms.

"Only about a day's worth of traveling and we'll be at Rivet Town." Brian was looking at a map he just found in his pack. "Hey, why can't we just cut across from here to here? Why does the road curve around this big brown dot?"

"Idiot, that's a mountain! So if you brought your mountain climbing gear, then YOU can cut across!" Andy stated.

"Hey, should we stop for lun… What… is … that?" Celia was staring up into the sky. A blue bird with cloud-like wings flew over them. The wings were colored purple, and they looked like they were on fire. Two lines of purple fire trailed off the top of its head.

"Whoa, that's one freaky Altaria." Brian said with fear in his voice. The Altaria spotted him and it didn't look friendly.

Brian tapped his Pokedex and a Pokeball appeared in his hand. He threw it and Zeck appeared. Andy did the same and in a flash of light a Nidoran materialized. Celia threw Flash in the air and the three took battle stances.

Brian started. "Zeck, shoot it down with Bullet Seed!" A stream of glowing seeds flew at the Altaria. It easily dodged and dashed above their heads, bringing a rush of wind flying behind it.

"Poison Sting!" "Thundershock!" "Bullet Seed!" A small bolt of lightning flew behind flashing white needles, quickly followed by a stream of seeds. The Altaria shot out green colored flames and burned the attack to a crisp.

"Dragonbreath…" Andy muttered. "Poison Sting again!" Brian tried another tactic. "Zeck, launch Flash at the Altaria with Pound!" Nidor again blasted a storm of needles at the dragonlike Pokemon. While the Altaria flew out of the way, it was met by a speeding yellow blur that held its position on the Altaria's back. The Altaria screeched and tried shaking the Pikachu off but to no avail. It was too busy whirling around to dodge the Poison Stings and the Bullet Seeds.

"Flash, use Thunderbolt now!" "Pi…ka…CHU!" Lightning bolts flew everywhere as the Altaria was being overcooked. One bolt hit Brian and fried his hair.

_Altaria's Point of View_

The yellow menace on my back refused to let go. It's weak yet consistent attacks were slowly taking me out. My constant twisting and turning allowed the other threats to land attacks on me. I had to find a way out. I then thought of the superpowerful attack as a spark jolted up my back. I charged energy in my mouth then released the-

_Normal_

HYPER BEAM!" Brian yelled as he ran. The huge beam struck the ground and debris flew everywhere. After the dust cleared, the only thing left was a big hole where the 3 had been. Flash was still trying to cling on but let go when he saw the hole. Seemingly, his friends had all been destroyed. He was too downfallen to resist the Altaria swooping down and capturing him with its claws then fly to Rivet Town.

* * *

Brian stirred as something bumped against his face. He opened his eyes then slowly got up. The thing moved around him and poked its head in his backpack. It was small enough to fit inside. Brian took off his backpack and reached in. When he pulled his hands back out he saw a happy looking Pokemon looking at him.

"An Aron!" Brian exclaimed. This woke up Celia and Andy. Andy said while rubbing his head, "Wow, did you look in your Pokedex or did you guess?" Brian replied, "For your information, Aron is one of the few Pokemon that I actually know the name of!" The Aron was really small, had steel skin, and walked on all four. His head was large. Holes were all across his body. The little creature happily gnawed on a berry Brian fished out of his pack. It then went to Brian and nuzzled his head on Brian's hand. Brian laughed then petted it.

Celia grinned. "Aww, how sweet!" She looked around her. They were in a cavelike place. It was dark and there were several tunnel entrances on the sides of their "room". Kroc popped out of her Pokeball and looked at the steel Pokemon. She went up to it and tapped it on the back. A clinking noise was made. Kroc was amused, then pretended to play some song on Aron's back. The racket aroused Nidor and Zeck and they examined the Aron too. It seemed so happy and cheerful.

(Pokenese)

"Cool skin! Tink, Tink!" "You must have a high defense, being the rock and steel type you are!" "So shiny…" "Hi! I'm Kroc!"

The Aron giggled. "Heeheehee! That's funny! Hey, how'd you guys get in our home?"

Blaze curiously asked, "Our?" "Yeah, my family's along with the rest of the Aron here! There is one Lairon that rules us all! We have a tunnel system throughout and under the mountain!" Blaze then thought _Maybe we can take a shortcut…_ He was interrupted by Celia screaming, _"WHERE IS FLASH?" _

(Normal)

Andy looked at the hole up 15 feet above. "My guess is, the Altaria took him…or worse…" Celia winced, then started to cry. "Christina…asked me…to take…care of him!" Brian tried consoling her.

"It'll be fine! Flash can take care of himself! If he gets in trouble, one bolt of lightning will fry everything around him!" Celia stopped at this. She stared up at the hole for a moment. "Thanks Brian." "Anytime!"

The Aron conversed with Blaze, then pointed to a tunnel entrance. It was big enough for the humans to go through. The gang walked along for a moment, then saw another Aron. It froze when it saw the humans.

"Aron! Aron Ar Aron! Ron!" It scurried off.

"That can't be good…" They continued to follow the Aron who was looking a bit nervous and concerned.

(Pokenese)

"… Most of the Aron here are peaceful. But the Ragar family is known for its violence. The ruling Lairon is the leader of that family and oversees the rest of the families. If we just carry on our lives normally without causing unnecessary disturbances, then we're fine. But I remember what they did to a Zigzagoon that accidentally fell in one day…ugh… they aren't too friendly with intruders. And that was a scout Aron from the Ragar family. You guys should prepare yourselves for some fighting…"

Claws snickered. "Aw, come on! How hard can these little guys be?" Zeck answered, "In case you haven't noticed, your attacks will only do one fourth the damage because Aron are part rock and part steel. Your normal attacks are not very effective to both of those types." "So? I'll still take them. Besides, I've been practicing a new move." Zeck raised his eyebrow. (do Treecko have eyebrows? Oh well, it's just an expression.) "What new move?" "You'll see."

* * *

An Aron scurried through the other busy Aron with their chores. It walked up a crude stairway into a separate room. It went up to a massive grey and black lump. The lump opened its eyes. Spiny steel ridges went down its back to its somewhat short tail. It had four feet that had a grey ring on each. Its armored head raised and looked at the tiny Aron.

"Oh great Megraton Ragar the fourth! I humbly ask permission to speak, your steelness."

The Lairon got up and lumbered in front of the Aron. "What is it now?" "A patrol has spotted intruders. 3 humans and 5 Pokemon. There was an Aron with them." Megraton roared. "HOW DID THEY GET IN?" "That still has to be investigated." "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET SOME TROOPS AND DESTROY THEM!" The Lairon then slowly walked back to its cushiony dirt and immediately fell asleep.

The Aron muttered to himself, "He's as lazy as a Snorlax…" Then a huge armored head rammed into him and sent him flying.

"I HEARD THAT!"

* * *

Kroc was walking alongside the Aron. "So, do you have a name or anything? You know ours now." "No one calls me by my name. It's Mozzarockastecker." "…strange name…" "Yeah…that's why no one calls me that…" "I can tell why…"

Before they could continue with their conversation, an Aron dug up from the ground. Several Aron fell from the ceiling and landed on their feet. Three more surfaced and they surrounded the gang.

"What are you guys doing?" "You're a Ragar, you know what the rule is for intruders!" "But they got in here by accident!" Kroc spoke up. "You're from the Ragar family?"

He smiled nervously. "I guess I forgot that detail… but anyways, don't harm them, please!" "No! They are intruders, and intruders will be exterminated! Attack!" All the Aron shot out mud from their mouths, hitting the group's Pokemon.

(Normal)

"Holy! We are going to have to fight our way out! Zeck, Iron Tail! Claws, use Double Team!" Zeck's tail grew luminously white. He spun and slammed it into an Aron, sending it flying into the tunnel wall. Copies of Claws flew throughout the tunnel.

"Good Brian! Blaze, torch as many as you can with Ember! Nidor, Double Kick!" Blaze burned a Mud Slap to ashes then fired Ember at an Aron. It collapsed from the heat. Two Aron used Headbutt on Nidor. He crashed into another Aron. The three surrounded him. Nidor was in a bad situation when he heard his trainer call. He lifted his hind legs then pushed out with all his might. Two knocked out Aron fell to the ground. The third charged again, only to get shot by an Ember. Blaze smiled, then fired another Ember at another Aron.

"What better to wash mud than water? Kroc, Water Gun! Flash use…oh…right…Kroc! Good job! Water Gun again!" After pushing an Aron to the ceiling with a Water Gun, Kroc ducked from a Mud Slap and blasted another Aron. She jumped over the injured Pokemon then slammed her tail into its face, taking him out. An Aron that Zeck catapulted with Pound flew over Kroc's head and into the wall. But then, a Mud Slap hit Kroc in the face. She was unable to dodge due to the fact she was blinded. She was rammed again and again. When she wiped the mud off, she saw the oncoming Aron in the air. It's left foreleg grew gray, then enlarged in the shape of a claw. The claw grew until it was slightly smaller than its head. The Metal Claw would have connected if it weren't for another Metal Claw that knocked it out of the way.

(Pokenese)

"Mozzrocks-whatever! Thanks for saving me!" "You're welco-oof!" The Aron had rammed into him. Both of them used Metal Claw and fought. But then Mozzarockastecker dug into the ground, reappeared behind the Aron, and spat mud at him, slowing him down. The now cumbersome Aron was repeatedly rammed until it fainted. Only one Aron was left. All the group's Pokemon (except Flash) surrounded it. It took a look around then quickly dug underground and disappeared.

"_OH YEAH! WE ROCKED THE HOUSE!"_ Brian was happily celebrating by grabbing Zeck's tail and flinging him around and around. Claws was laughing really hard.

"HAHAAHAHAH! You loser!" "If…I…wasn't…so…dizzy…I'd…kill…you…!" "HAHAHAHAHAH! Too dizzy? HAHAHAHAHH!"

* * *

"Your great steelness! The intruders are quite powerful! They have taken out a whole troop of Aron!" "THEN SEND SOME MORE!"

* * *

"I've always been the outsider." The Aron stated. "My family never cared for me. I was the loner… I never had a real friend before." Kroc thought for a moment. Then her face lit up.

"How about you join us? After this is all over, you can travel with us!" He looked at her in surprise.

"Really? You mean it? Wow! I'd love to! Assuming we get out of this mess…I wonder if Brian would take me… "

The group walked for a while. They came into a large room with other Aron. Most were sleeping. The others were tending to baby Aron. They all woke up and looked at the intruders. They hurriedly went into the ground and separate tunnels.

"Well, at least we get a more roomy battleground." Zeck said. Blaze looked up and saw about 15 Aron appear from the roof of the ceiling and fall down on the floor. Several more surfaced.

(Normal)

"Let's do this! Bullet Seed!" Zeck fired a wave of energized seeds that blew through the Aron's armor.

"Water Gun!" "Flamethrower!" Streams of water and fire rose the percentage of defeated Aron.

The Aron organized themselves and fired mud all at the same time. Then all of their forelegs went Metal Claw and they lunged in.

(Pokenese)

Kroc washed the mud off everyone's faces and bodies while Claws distracted the Aron with his copies. Nidor Double Kicked Aron out of the way to go to his trainer and hide behind his legs. But more Aron kept coming and coming.

"Die!" Zeck slammed an Iron Tail on an Aron. That Aron hit another Aron, toppling them both. Claws jumped over him and landed behind another Aron.

"Time for my new move!" Claws' paw turned a brownish color. He then slammed it down on the Aron. A cracking noise was heard as it fell over in defeat. Zeck stared at Claws dumbfounded.

"It's called Rock Smash…"

Kroc had successfully launched a Surf attack that took out a lot of Aron and tired her out in the process. A Headbutt connected and she fell out of exhaustion and pain. Celia returned her.

(Normal)

The group had been backed up against a wall. The Aron formed a semicircle around them and continuously spat out mud. Without Kroc, it was much harder retaliate against the Mud Slaps.

"Blaze, use Ember on the ceiling!" Blaze looked confused, but blasted fireballs at the top of the room. It melted the dirt ceiling and globs of heated mud dripped down on the Aron, heavily damaging them. With a couple of Bullet Seeds, Rock Smashes, and Flamethrowers, the Aron were repelled.

"We gotta find a way out of here, quick!" Celia spoke with panic. Andy crossed his arms and thought.

"Our best chance is to follow that Aron that's been helping us." It had been Metal Clawed in the battle and his side was cracked. Brian was nursing his wounds with a towel and washed him with some water in his canteen.

"Brian sure has taken a liking to that Aron." Celia stated. She watched as the Aron laughed when a chunk of heated mud fell and landed on Brian, frying him instantly.

Andy then said, "We should be on our way. The sooner we are out of here, the better."

* * *

(Pokenese)

"A WHOLE SQUAD WAS TAKEN OUT? Do I have to do everything here?"

The messenger Aron muttered under his breath, "No, we do it all for you!" He was then hit by a boulder that the Lairon threw at him.

* * *

A large boulder was shoved out of the way to reveal a hole in which 3 humans and their Pokemon climbed out of.

"Neat secret entrance!" Blaze commented. "Where are we?"

"We are in the Tranquil Cave. It's moderately big. The exit right over there will lead you to the right entrance of the town place."

"Hey! That's just where we are headed!"

But before the gang could celebrate, a mob of Aron crashed through the wall. They were lead by a monstrous Lairon.

Zeck muttered, "Some tranquil cave…"

"_EEK! WHAT IS THAT THING?" _Celia screamed.

Andy replied, "_It's the evolved form of Aron. They are pretty high leveled, although this one looks like it's been so lazy it's weaker than normal Lairon." _

The Lairon snorted. "Weak, am I? I'll show you weak! Take them out!" The mob of Aron rushed at the teams Pokemon. Wave after wave they fell to Bullet Seeds, Flamethrowers, and Rock Smashes. Nidor was in his usual spot behind Andy. The Aron on their side was helping with Mud Slap.

But Zeck, Blaze, and Claws were getting tired. The mob got nearer and nearer.

"_Brian, Celia, RUN!" _The three along with the Pokemon ran off in the direction of the entrance.

Now, I do not swear. I am writing this fanfiction knowing that there isn't swearing in it. Therefore, I will translate the statement the Lairon makes into a nice, clean, statement.

"PLEASE RETURN SO I CAN PUNISH YOUR REAR END YOU UNPLEASANT PORTION OF NATURAL WASTE!"

The Lairon reared up on its hind legs, and slammed down on the ground. The ground rippled with shockwaves from the Earthquake attack. The shockwaves knocked out all the Aron due to supereffectiveness. It had also knocked out Blaze and sent the whole gang sprawling on the ground. They hastily got up and ran out into the sunlight.

"_SUNLIGHT!" _Brian knelt down and kissed the ground.

"_We aren't done yet!" _The Lairon charged out from the cave. With one sweep of its head, it knocked Zeck off his feet and into the air. He landed with a thump which knocked him into unconsciousness.

"_Claws! Rock Smash!" _Claws' paw grew brown and he slammed it at the Lairon. It knocked him back a little bit.

"It's gonna take MUCH more than that to stop me, pathetic Linoone!" He reared up on his hind legs for the Earthquake attack when Claws dashed in and delivered a solid Rock Smash that knocked it off its feet onto its back. Nidor repeatedly jabbed his horn into the softer belly of the Lairon while Claws repeatedly Slashed it. Aron fired mud into the Lairon's eyes.

"ROOOAAAARRRRR!" The Lairon roared and flipped himself up. He jumped and landed the Earthquake, knocking Claws and Nidor out.

"_We have no more Pokemon!" "We got that Aron over there!" _He walked up the the Lairon.

"Please, can't you just let them go?" "After what they did to my home? NO! And since you helped them fight AGAINST your own kind, you will be eliminated as well." With that, the Lairon rammed its head at him, sending him flying.

(Normal)

"Cmon Aron! You can do it!" Brian offered encouragement. "Take that bully out with Metal Claw!" He slowly got up and listened to Brian's commands.

Celia whispered to Andy. "Wow, Brian's controlling a wild Pokemon." "Yeah, he's improved."

His foreleg grew into a grey claw shape and slashed at the Lairon. He was barely fazed by the attack and launched a Metal Claw of his own. His claw was 3x as big. But Aron managed to dig underground in the nick of time.

"Unburrow underneath him!" He resurfaced under the Lairon, who was confused where he was. Aron then lashed out with two Metal Claws, severely hurting the Lairon. It cried out in pain. Getting on its hind legs it prepared for another Earthquake.

"Aron! Get out of the way!" Aron, however, looked the Lairon straight in the eye.

(Pokenese)

"Scared, little one?" The Aron smiled. "Nah, just savoring my victory moment." He sucked in a mouthful of air, then shot out a burst of mud at the ground in front of the Lairon. When he came down with his forelegs, he slipped on the mud and fell face first. Aron mustered all his energy for a final attack. His left foreleg grew larger into a Metal Claw. He leaped into the air and dove at the Lairon, slicing at his forehead. A cracking sound was heard as the Lairon's head got three huge scratch marks. It lay there, defeated.

(Normal)

"Good job Aron!" Brian cheerfully cried. "How'd your last Metal Claw get so strong?" Andy answered, "Metal Claw will occasionally boost the user's attack. That's how it busted through the Lairon's armored head."

Brian knelt down and looked at the Aron. "Thanks for helping us out. Without you, we'd be dead." He turned to the others. "We need to go rest our Pokemon in Rivet Town." "And find Flash." Celia added.

When they returned their injured Pokemon and started to leave, the Aron followed. He kept walking behind Brian. When Brian turned around and saw him, the Aron looked up at him hopefully.

Celia said to Brian, "I think he wants to join us." Brian laughed and looked at the Aron. "You want to join our team?" The Aron nodded and rubbed his head against Brian's leg. He smiled. "Okay then. I'll be your trainer from now on! Is it okay if I give you a nickname?" The Aron nodded.

"Hm… I know! I'll name you Dekor!" Celia and Andy had blank looks on their faces.

"Just stating the obvious, but how'd you get that name?"

Brian asked her, "You ever had those stuffed Pokemon dolls that say their name when you press its stomach?" Celia lit up. "OOH! I used to have 20 of them. But I stopped playing with them after my cousin's tenth birthday when he got a real Pokemon."

"Well, I had an Aron doll. A girl that had a crush on me gave it to me. I didn't like her and when she went away, I slammed the doll against a wall. It must have messed up the speaker thing, because when I pressed the stomach, the doll said, 'DEEEEEkkkoRRRRR!' Now, whenever I see Aron, I think about that doll. And that's why I'm naming this Aron Dekor."

"Ha! A girl got a crush on YOU? Oh my gosh!" Celia snickered. Brian took a mallet and chased her around while Andy and Dekor stared at them. Little did they know, the battle they just fought would be nothing compared to the one they were going to face the next day.

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry for not updating sooner. I did a lot of stuff over spring break and all of my teachers decided to launch a lot of tests right after the break. Review now! 


	11. Cloud Dragon, Round One

RS: Voidmoon: Yeah, Aron is one of my favorite Pokemon too. Nice narrator skills. I know you'll achieve your dream. Lol

littoaznelf: Thanks for the grammar note…everyone makes mistakes, and most of the everyone doesn't have time to fix them. French onions? Oh yeah, Mexican carrots!

potatoarecool: Stupid Charley. You actually went and got a fanfiction username? Oh my gosh. Lol, Canada.

CHAPTER 11 IS FINALLY HERE!

* * *

Cloud Dragon, Round One

"Here's the money." Brian handed the innkeeper some cash, then he and Celia released their Pokemon along with Andy's. The innkeeper was startled by the strange mechanical device. They gave their Pokemon to him so he could nurse them back to health. They then went back to the lobby where Andy was talking to someone.

The guy Andy was talking to evidently was very excited. "Oh my gosh, are you really going to fight Eric? He is so harsh to us. I'll be cheering for you, dude!"

Andy replied, "Ok… thanks… um… do you know what type of Pokemon he uses?"

"OOH! I KNOW THIS ONE! He's a fanatical flying-type person." "Thanks, you were a great help." "Anytime anywhere as long as it's against Eric!" Andy walked to Brian and Celia.

"He's kinda off…" They sat together on benches near the entrance of the inn.

"Hmm… I wonder, where is the noble in the first place?" "See that building?" Andy pointed out the window at a large red and white building. It was one story taller than the other houses.

"Yeah, he's in there." Brian spoke up. "How about the guards? And is he like a gym leader? Do we issue a challenge or something? Or do we barge in and beat his Pokemon to a pulp like some terrorist?"

"I think we should sneak our way in, find the noble, then challenge him. If he refuses, we attack."

"Good idea." Celia commented. "And if we get caught by guards, then we can just say we are tourists from Utila. They say that Rivet Town is very peaceful and quiet. People go here all the time to just relax."

"That explains why there were so many inns." Brian pointed out.

Andy continued. "Okay, about his Pokemon. I asked some people for information when you two were waiting in line to get the rooms. He is a flying-type fanatic. He uses all flying Pokemon."

"Another reason to get Flash back more quickly. I say we should go rescue him first."

"No. After we beat the noble, the whole town will be freed of Shade occupation. Then we will easily get Flash back, wherever he is."

Brian was thinking. "Remember that Altaria that attacked us back on the road? I've got a feeling that it is one of the noble's Pokemon. There is a good chance it took Flash and brought it here."

Andy said to Celia, "See? Flash will be fine. Now, our best bet is to go with Pokemon with wide range attacks that could shoot down a flying-type in the air. Blaze has a wide Ember, Kroc could use Surf or Bubble, and Nidor has Poison Sting."

"What about Zeck?" "He's a grass-type. Grass-attacks don't do that much damage to fliers." "But what about Iron Tail?" "He'd have to jump pretty high to get that attack landed." "Oh…but what about Dekor?" "Too slow, can't jump very high to land physical attacks, and his Mud Slap doesn't affect flying Pokemon." "…"

The innkeeper walked to them with their Pokemon trailing behind him.

"Here are your Pokemon!"

Kroc jumped into Celia's arms while the others went back into their Pokeballs and into the Pokedexes.

"Ok, we are going to rest up for the night. We'll start our plan tomorrow. Goodnight…" The three walked up the staircase and into the second floor. There was a hallway that ran across to the other side. Rooms were along both walls. Celia walked to the third room on the right and went in. Andy's was one more room further. Brian's was one room back. Brian couldn't open the door. He slammed his fist repeatedly until Zeck popped out, turned the key backward, and opened the door for him.

"OOH! So that's why it wouldn't open…" He heard Celia say loudly from her room, "Morons these days…"

* * *

Inside Brian's room all his Pokemon popped out. There were two beds. Brian put his backpack on one of them and his Pokemon were on the other one.

(Pokenese)

Dekor sniffed the blanket cautiously.

"I've never experienced such softness. Cold ground and packed dirt have been my beds for my whole life." He plopped down contently and fell asleep in the center of the bed. Claws went to the pillow and slept there. Zeck jumped on Brian's bed when Brian went inside the small restroom to take a bath. When he came back out, Zeck had fallen asleep. Brian smiled and laid down on the bed next to Zeck. He closed his eyes and sleep came to him shortly.

* * *

(Normal)

"AAAhhh…" Brian yawned as he woke up. Claws, Dekor, and Zeck were still asleep. Brian changed in the restroom and then returned all his Pokemon. He walked outside and down the staircase to join Andy and Celia.

"What took you so long Brian?" Celia fumed.

"Jeez, just trying to get some more sleep…" They walked into the dining hall that was across the hall from the lobby to get breakfast. (so convenient…a dining hall)

After eating, they walked out of the inn and into the street. People were walking around everywhere with their daily things.

"Hmm… There's the town hall. Let's go!" The three went to the hall and stopped in front of it. Two Shades were standing next to the door.

"Let's find another way in." They circled the building to find another entrance. Andy found a door on the side of the building. He motioned for Brian and Celia. Blaze burned the padlock on it and they went in.

"Wow, so many paintings." Celia stated.

They walked down a corridor that led to a hallway with many rooms. A maid walked out one of them. She stared at the three, shrugged, then walked into another room. They continued until they came to the tall red door at the end of the hallway.

"I guess this is it…" Brian turned the knob and walked in. He saw a man in his early thirties or so. The man had white hair. _Probably dyed it… _Brian thought. He was wearing a grey cloak over a black shirt and grey pants. His blue eyes looked at them curiously.

"How did you three get in?"

"Well, there kinda was an unlocked door at the side of the building." The man sighed.

"I keep telling them to lock it, but no… who are you people?" Brian stepped forward.

"We're here to challenge you to a Pokemon match so we can beat you and free Rivet Town of the King of Shadow's evil!"

The man smile. "Well, my name is Eric… I'll accept that challenge. If you lose though, I'll have to put you in prison. Now, I suppose I'll have to battle all three of you. Okay, a four on four match. You guys can use any combination of four Pokemon in your party. We'll go to my private battle court."

They followed him out of his room and back into the hallway. Guards came out at the sight of the intruders, but Eric just waved at them and they stopped. Then they turned at the corridor into a yard. They walked until they saw a rectangle area surrounded by bleachers. The grass had been cut off and it was covered with stone slabs all over. There were boxes for the combatants to stand in.

"Bring me my Pokemon." A servant went up to Eric, kneeled, and presented him with four crystals on top of a cushion.

Brian looked at the crystals, then remembered that the noble's assistant had one. Brian noticed that the noble's assistant was standing in the back, watching his boss. The bleachers soon filled up with common people to watch the noble battle.

A man with brown clothing walked out to the center of the field.

"This match will be of coliseum rules. To win, you must knock out all four of your opponent's Pokemon. The noble is unable to recall Pokemon while the challengers are. If a Pokemon leaves the field, they are disqualified. Understand?"

Brian, Andy, and Celia nodded. Celia said, "I'll start." She walked up to the box while Eric pocketed the four crystals.

The judge said, "Begin!" Celia threw her Pokeball into the air. It opened up a white light shot out that formed into a Totodile. Eric smiled. "I choose you, Golbat! He pointed his crystal at the field. A multicolored beam shot out that materialized into a blue bat with a huge mouth.

"Gol!" The crowd booed him. "You suck Eric! Your Pokemon suck too! Leave Rivet now!" Several Shades walked into the crowd and started whacking people with sticks. The crowd soon stopped.

Celia looked uncertain. _Golbats can suck health, right? _"Kroc, Water Gun!" The little crocodile blasted a stream of water out at the bat. The Golbat was still standing in one place with both its wings covering its face.

"Now Golbat!" It flew into the air and narrowly dodged the stream of water.

"Leech life!" Green fangs appeared at the side of Golbat. It pointed both its wings at Kroc. Then the fangs flew at her.

"Look out!" Kroc shot out water in self defense. The attack neutralized the Leech Life.

"Hm… you aren't all that bad. Air Cutter now!" The Golbat slashed its wings and blades of air rushed at Kroc. They connected into her and blasted her backward.

"Scary Face!" Kroc glared at the Golbat with menacing eyes and all her fangs showing. She even dripped saliva.

The Golbat was startled by the attack and for a moment it stopped beating its wings. That left the perfect opportunity for Kroc to blast it down with a Bubble attack. The bubbles flew straight at the Golbat, exploding on contact. It dropped to the ground.

"Bite!" Kroc lunged at the bat Pokemon and clamped down on its wing with her sharp fangs.

The Golbat winced in pain, then shot out strong sound waves that hit Kroc, confusing her. She wobbled around with a dreamy look on her face.

"Kroc! Try fighting back with another Bite!" She stared at her tail and bit it. The jolt of pain knocked her back to her senses. But the Golbat had already taken advantage of Kroc's status problem. Green fangs appeared and they all flew at Kroc. When they pierced into her, they melted away into energy strands that went back into Golbat, healing it.

"Oh no! Kroc!"

"Finish it with Steel Wing!" Golbat's wings turned grey. It then flew into the air and dove at Kroc. Just before it hit, Celia returned Kroc, safe in her Pokeball.

"That was close… I'll save her for another round. You go, Brian…"

The judge spoke. "The challenger has swapped Pokemon in hopes of having one of her teammates be strong enough to win. Let's see who her teammate's Pokemon is."

Brian took Celia's place in the box. He whipped out his Pokeball and threw it. The light had turned into an Aron.

"It's an Aron! Eric's in trouble now! Most of his attacks won't do that much!"

"Go Dekor! Use Metal Claw!" Dekor's right paw grew into a grey claw. He jumped and slashed at Golbat. But unfortunately, Dekor couldn't jump high enough. He was short about five feet and he fell down on the ground.

"Fly down there with Steel Wing!" Golbat's wings grew grey and it flew down at the Aron. But Dekor jumped over the attack and landed on the Golbat's back.

"Dekor! Now that you have the chance, weigh it down with mud! Use Mud Slap!" Dekor clung on to the desperate Golbat as it tried to lose its unwanted passenger. Dekor sucked in air and spat a large glob of mud at Golbat's wings. They stuck on and Golbat couldn't stay in the air. It steadily went lower and lower until it collapsed on the ground.

"Mud Slap again!" Another glob of mud hit the Golbat. It splattered over its eyes, blinding it.

"Golbat, try shaking the mud off!" "Metal Claw it now!" Golbat futilely shook himself to get the mud off. Dekor charged in with two Metal Claws that tore through Golbat's thin, muddy wings. The claws then grew slightly bigger.

"Oh yeah, the attack boost! Metal Claw again!" Dekor repeatedly slashed Golbat with his two powerful Metal Claws. After a claw to the head, Golbat toppled over in defeat.

The judge cried, "And the winner is the challenger's Aron!" The crowd cheered.

Eric was slightly surprised. "Wow. You're pretty good, I'll tell you that. Now, can you beat this?" He shot out a beam that materialized into a bird with short hair. It flew into the air and cried, "Pidgeoooo!"

"Go Pidgeotto! Show them what a REAL Mud Slap looks like!" The bird flew down and spat out mud into the air. It then slapped the mud at the Aron with its wings. The mud hit Dekor in the face, blocking off his sight. It was also supereffective, which means it weakened Dekor considerably.

"Dekor, scratch it off with Metal Claw!" Dekor ripped the mud off with his Claws, then scanned the sky to find his opponent. The Aron looked confused because he couldn't find the bird.

"BEHIND YOU!" "Pidgeotto, Steel Wing!" Dekor turned around and saw the Pidgeotto charging up its wings to a shiny grey color. Then it flew toward Dekor with astonishing speed.

"Hit it with a…" Dekor opened his mouth and fired a shower of rock pellets at Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeooo!" it cried as it suffered a supereffective shot.

Brian was obviously confused. "What just happened?" Andy answered, "Your Aron just learned how to use Rock Blast. It's basically a rock-type Bullet Seed."

Brian smiled. "Rock Blast!" Dekor again fired rock pellets. But Pidgeotto flew higher and higher until the pellets couldn't reach it.

"Steel Wing." The speck in the sky glinted in the sun. It then grew bigger and bigger until a flash of grey slammed down on Dekor. After the dust cleared Pidgeotto was standing on top of the Aron with both of its wings having a sliver glaze.

"NO! Dekor!" "The winner is Eric's Pidgeotto!" The crowd loudly booed.

"Cmon Kroc you're up again!" The blue crocodile came back on the field with a new determination in her eyes.

"Aerial Ace!" "Bite!" The bird flew into the air and then spiraled down with both its talons extended toward the small crocodile. But before it could land a hit, the Totodile opened its mouth and clamped down on one of the talons. Pidgeotto flew up in pain with Kroc literally at its heels.

"Shake it off with a Gust!" The bird spun around and around until it was a tannish blurry tornado with a streak of blue near the bottom. Then the blue part flew off and the Totodile slammed into the ground, hard.

"Kroc! Are you ok?" Kroc stood up and grinned at her trainer. "Good! Bubblebeam!" A flurry of small bubbles flew up at the Pidgeotto.

"Blow them away with Whirlwind!" The bird flapped its wings tremendously quickly and a strong wind blew the bubbles back at Kroc.

"Use Rage!" The bubbles hit the crocodile just as her eyes grew red. They grew a darker red after the bubbles hit.

"Heh, use another Aerial Ace!" The blur of tan flew down and struck a blow on Kroc's back. The attack left a gash on her back.

"Hold your ground…" "Aerial Ace! Again!" Pidgeotto continued to launch torpedo-like strikes to the seemingly helpless Totodile. But with each attack Kroc's eyes grew a more intense red.

"Finish it with Aerial Ace!" Time seemed to slow as the Pidgeotto flew down to defeat its opponent. It was met in mid-air by a red-eyed demonic tail slam. The bird spun around 720 degrees before falling to the ground. It slowly got up.

"Kroc! Use a… uh… don't be so rough…um…we don't want to KILL, do we? Kroc? Hey Kroc stop!" Kroc's eyes returned to normal and she turned around and grinned sheepishly. The Pidgeotto was covered in bite and scratch marks. Feathers were strewn about everywhere.

Brian stared. "It won't be flying for some time…"

"The winner is the challenger's Totodile!" The crowd cheered again. "Kroc! Kroc! Kroc!"

Eric returned his badly torn up bird, then reached for another stone. In a flash, a red lizard appeared. A horn stuck out from the back of its head. It was the evolved form of Charmander, Charmeleon!

Celia stared. "Um… aren't you a flying type fanatic?" "This… was my first Pokemon. Eventually he will become a magnificent Charizard! Let's start this already! Ember now!" "You made a mistake using a fire-type against Kroc! Water Gun!"

An orange fireball flew toward the Totodile as it sucked in air and spewed out a stream of water. The Water Gun neutralized the Ember attack instantly.

"Use Rage!" "You too, Kroc!" The two Pokemon's eyes both grew red. Then they both charged at the same time. But Charmeleon was faster, therefore landing a slash mark on Kroc's shoulder. But then she slammed her tail at Charmeleon's stomach, toppling him over. The two attacks beefed up both their Rages even more.

"Keep it up, Kroc!" "Finish her off!" The two collided in clawfights and tail whippings. Charmeleon lashed out his burning tail which narrowly missed Kroc's head. Her own tail slammed into his face and he spun 360 degrees. He landed on one of his feet and twisted around to gain balance. Then he slashed upward, catching Kroc on her chin. She lashed back with her own slash, only to be intercepted by a burning tail to the face. Kroc did a backflip and a landed on her stomach.

"Oh no! Kroc! Use Surf!" Kroc slowly got up. But Charmeleon was faster. He lunged forward, the red in his eyes intensely dark.

Kroc reacted on her own and fired a point blank Water Gun. The attack hit head on and Charmeleon was flung back by the force of the water and its supereffectiveness on him.

"Surf, now!" Kroc used both her arms and grabbed at the air above the ground. She slowly lifted them; her face showing deep concentration.

"To…to…DILE!" She lifted her arms straight into the air. A wave of water burst through the ground and fell on Charmeleon. After the water resided, a Charmeleon with squiggly circles for eyes was seen against the wall of the arena. It's tail flame was flickering lightly.

The crowd went wild. They were screaming hysterically. Even the judge was surprised.

"And…and…the wwwwinner iiis the Totodile! The noble has one Pokemon left while the challengers have 3, including Totodile."

Celia said, "Eric, you should tend to him quickly. He's close to dying."

"Why would you be concerned with an _evil _person's Pokemon?"

"Controlled by an evil person or not, it's still a living Pokemon. And I know all Pokemon have some good inside somewhere."

"Well, we'll see if you change your attitude once you see my next Pokemon. It's over you kids. It's time to kick it up a notch. Cloud Dragon, come forth!" The crowd gasped. The judge stepped back. The noble's assistant in the back looked up, surprised.

However, Brian, Andy, and Celia were clueless. "Cloud Dragon?" Eric smiled. "Yes, and this battle is the last battle your Pokemon will ever face!" He held up his stone, and a beam of pure dark blasted into the air. A moment later, a devilish screech was heard. The dragon's form was blue. It's wings were cloudlike, but they were dark colored. Thin strands of dark flame came from the head. It flew around in circles before landing in front of Eric.

Brian yelled out, "That's the Altaria that attacked us earlier on! Be careful, it's very powerful!"

Eric raised his eyebrow. "You've met the Cloud Dragon alre…you must have been the unidentified travelers! The Cloud Dragon captured a Pikachu from that group."

"FLASH! You better have not done anything bad to him!"

Eric laughed evilly. "I don't think the guards have been _too _rough with it."

Celia gasped. Then yelled, "YOU HEARTLESS DEMON!"

"Hmph…Cloud Dragon, Dragonbreath!"

The Altaria flew up and blasted silky green flames at Kroc.

"Water Gun!" Kroc was panting heavily, but managed to shoot a stream of water at the approaching attack. The Dragonbreath immediately passed through the Water Gun, nullifying it.

"Wha…" The flames hit Kroc dead on. She fell on the ground, but still refused to give up.

"Kroc, let's fight this for Flash! Bubblebeam!" "Black Shadow!"

A dark silhouette rose up from the Altaria's body. It swirled into an orb that floated above the battlefield. The Cloud Dragon's eyes suddenly turned red.

"Shadow Wing!" The Altaria's wings burst into black flames. It dove down at the Totodile who was shooting a stream of bubbles to defend itself.

The Cloud Dragon slammed one of its wings and it negated the Bubblebeam. It slammed the other wing onto Kroc. She fell over, finally defeated.

"KROC!" Celia went to the middle of the battle field. She picked up her injured Pokemon. After consoling it for a bit, she returned it and walked toward Brian and Andy.

Boos from the crowd echoed as the three discussed what to do next.

Brian said, "Give Zeck a chance!" Andy cut in. "It's too suicidal. One flying attack and Zeck's out." "You're underestimating him." "Yeah, but now's not the time to test how strong he is." "Give me a chance!" "You got one with Dekor!" "Zeck can fight!" "I don't doubt that, but can it fight a superior superPokemon?" Celia cut in. "Give Brian another chance and see how well Zeck does. If Brian has any good qualities, it's determination, and if he puts his mind on it, he can do it." "Thanks Celia…wait, what do you mean 'has any good qualities?' Man, I have other-" "Just go and fight!"

Brian walked to the trainer box and zapped out Zeck's Pokeball.

"Make me proud…" Brian muttered as he flung his Pokeball in the air. After the usual light and everything Zeck was standing in front of Brian. It took one look at the Dragon, then spit on the ground.

The crowd went "oooh"

The Altaria perked up its head and screeched. It acted on its own and flew into the air, both flaming wings outstretched. It flew down and aimed for the Treecko. But just as it was about to connect, the Treecko jumped and landed on the Altaria's neck.

"BULLET SEED!" Zeck unleashed a flurry of energized seeds at point blank range. They all hit their target, causing moderate damage.

"Keep it up!" "Shake it off!" Zeck continued with his chain of Bullet Seeds while the Altaria spun around and around, attempting to throw Zeck off.

Zeck held on but then lost his grasp when the Altaria unexpectedly twisted its head and Zeck flew off.

He cushioned his fall by landing on his tail. But before he could react, a gust of wind blew him into the air where the Altaria was waiting.

"Shadow Wing!" Both wings flared up and the Altaria flew toward the Treecko suspended in the air by the Gust.

"Iron Tail when it's close!" Zeck's tail grew intensely white while the shadowy flaming dragon approached.

In a split second, Zeck had flung his tail out and the Iron Tail connected with the Cloud Dragon's skull. But not before it flung its wing out and slammed it across Zeck's body, sending him flying to the ground at a high speed. When he landed, he was out cold.

"The challenger's Treecko is out, the Cloud Dragon is the winner!" "BOOOO!"

Brian sullenly returned his Treecko and walked back to Celia while Andy went to the trainer's box.

"I'm going to take you down Eric, and your little pathetic dragon. Go Blaze!" Andy's faithful Charmander entered the battleground.

"Oh, and you're calling my Dragon small, eh?"

"The challenger has chosen a Charmander! Begin!"

"Blaze, Ember!" Blaze shot out fireballs from his mouth. They were surprisingly fast. Altaria couldn't react before part of its body was slightly singed from the attack.

"Wing Attack!" "Flamethrower!" The Altaria spiraled down with both its wings outstreatched. It flew down like a tornado toward the small fire lizard.

Before it reached Blaze, he opened his mouth and a stream of fire rushed out and hit the incoming Dragon. After getting hit by the Flamethrower, it was forced to turn.

"Shadow Wing!" The Altaria circled around and came back for Blaze.

"Use your tail!" Blaze jumped up and spun his tail around crazily. He looked like a flaming tornado. The Altaria came closer and closer until it raised one of its wings and slammed down. It connected with Blaze and he fell, not before roasting the Altaria's wing with his tail flame.

Blaze crashed down on the ground with a sickening thud. But he got back up and still had plenty of energy left.

"Now, finish off the brat with your Hyper Beam!" The Altaria gathered white orbs of energy in its mouth. They melded into a large, single white orb that was growing larger.

"Counter with Flare!" Blaze's eyes turned orange as his tail flame grew and grew. He spun around and the tail flame burst forward. But at that moment the Altaria released the Hyper Beam. The white hot flame current rushed toward the powerful white beam. They connected, and then a massive explosion occurred.

"Blaze!"

* * *

Author's notes: Ooh, cliffy. I'm really sorry for not updating sooner. Too much homework, too much stuff to do… 


	12. The Mighty Cloud Dragon

RS: Voidmoon: Actually, Kroc can't use Ice Punch…yet. I'm glad for your confidence in Blaze. Sorry to disappoint you, but Blaze…well…he… kinda gets terminated…

nanC: Bored? Your bored? That's what my fic is for!

blackheart: You like my story? Thanks!

The title is corny, I know. I haven't updated in a long time. I'm really slow at updating.

But here's chapter 12!

* * *

The Mighty Cloud Dragon

A girl about the age of seven screamed as a gigantic explosion rocked the arena. Her twin brother looked on with astonishment. They were at the Rivet Arena watching a rare match. The Rivet Town noble was battling! The evil noble's Cloud Dragon had blasted a Hyper Beam at the challenger's Charmander, which had shot a Flare attack. The attacks connected, but it wasn't clear who the winner was. Smoke and dust filled the area, then quickly lifted up as flapping noises were heard. The Cloud Dragon had flapped away the smoke to reveal a knocked out Charmander.

"And the winner of the match is Eric and his Cloud Dragon!" Boos echoed from the crowd. The boy, Jon, joined in too. Camil, his sister, just hid behind him. The challenger, who was wearing a black hooded sweater and brown pants, was joined by a yellow and black clothed boy and a girl with a green top and blue jeans. He walked to his Charmander and it disappeared in a red light. Suddenly, several Shades came out with a couple of Graveler with them. One Graveler grabbed the black hooded sweater boy. The other boy was carried off by the other Graveler. A Shade grabbed the girl's wrist and forced her to walk away. The crowd booed Eric, the noble, and threw some trash on the stage. Then Shades with clubs went to the bleachers and "escorted" the audience out.

Jon whispered to Camil, "Hey, they were about to beat the noble. We were so close to freedom." Camil sighed. "Well, yeah, but Eric is super buff…." She brushed back her blonde hair that was tied back into a ponytail.

The two were walking down a street back to their house. They were chatting about how bad the Pidgeotto got torn up when they saw the girl that fought Eric running past them. A Shade was close behind her. He was clutching at his sensitive organs.

Jon looked at the passer-bys. "Do you think we should help that girl?" "Yeah, she did try to save our town." The twins chased after the person who was chasing after the girl.

* * *

Celia turned a corner and ran into a dead end. The Shade that pursued her was still clutching the part of him that she kicked, hard, to escape. But then he took the beating stick hanging from his waist and advanced on her.

"Get away from me!" Celia yelled. "Heh, you think that's going to heAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sparks of electricity flew from him. He got back up and turned around. A pair of twins commanding a Plusle and Minun stood there.

"You brats are going to pay!" The Shade charged at them with his beating stick.

"Plusle!" "Minun!" "USE THUNDERSHOCK!" The red and blue Pikachu clones sparked up electricity from their cheeks which flew straight at the Shade, frying him. He then whipped out a stone, calling upon his Geodude.

"Helping Hand!" The two mice held hands. Then blue colored lightning bolts flew between them.

"Rock Throw, Geodude!" Chunks of rock flew at the pair of mice.

"Spark!" Still holding hands, the Plusle and Minun both had electricity flying out of them. Then they jolted forward, dodging the rocks. The Geodude was slammed back by the double Spark attack, flying into the Shade's head. He was effectively knocked out.

"Good job Plusle!" "You rock Minun!" The twins took out their own stones and returned the two Pokemon.

Celia walked to them. "Thanks for saving me." "Hey, you guys tried saving us first, so we were just repaying a debt!"

Celia checked her Pokedex. She clicked on the Pokeball icon with the Totodile. She accessed the health icon. Kroc was in bad condition from the fight.

"Hey…uh… My name is Celia!" "I'm Jon!" "I'm his sister, Camil!"

"Jon, Camil, I'm asking a big favor. Could you guys take me to your house and let me rest my Pokemon?"

"Of cour----huh?" Camil pulled Jon to the side.

"What about MOM?" "Celia's our hero!" "SOOO? Mom's gonna get hecka mad! We aren't supposed to even battle!" "…um…uh oh… we got no choice now…RUN!" Jon pulled Camil and ran off. Celia quickly followed.

Camil screamed, "LET GO! Why are we even---" She turned around and saw 5 Shades accompanied by 5 Geodude. "Oh… okay…AAAHHHH!" Camil jumped to the side right before a boulder smashed into the ground she was standing in a second ago.

They ran and ran down the street. They turned into a market. The Shades couldn't find them in the crowd of people. They gave up in defeat.

"Phew…" Celia stood up from behind the fruit stand they were hiding behind.

"I've got to go save my friends! Thanks for your help…" She ran off.

Jon quickly followed, but was pulled back by Camil.

"We can't follow her! Man, you are ALWAYS the wild one… I always have to watch you!" Jon smiled. "Then you have to watch me while I run off to help her!" He took off after Celia.

"UGH!" Camil followed.

* * *

Brian was tossed into a cell. He watched through the bars as Andy was thrown into the cell across from him. They were in a narrow corridor filled with cells on both sides. There were only two exits, one at one end of the corridor, the other at the other end.

_They are so stupid. They didn't even take away our packs! _Brian thought to himself.

Brian released all three of his Pokemon. Claws was fine, since he didn't battle. But the other two were seriously hurt. He got out the medical stuff from his pack and got to work. Andy did the same with Blaze.

Brian was bandaging Zeck's arm when he saw a bright flash. He poked his head out of the bars and looked left. He saw a Pikachu trying to blow away the bars with a Thundershock. It tried and tried but it was all in vain. It sat down in misery. Brian called out to it.

"FLASH!"

The Pikachu perked its head up. When it saw Brian, it jumped straight up in joy.

Andy said, "Well, we found Flash. He's still alive at least…"

* * *

Celia was in Jon and Camil's house. Jon had led her there. His parents weren't home.

Jon said excitedly, "I FOUND THE MEDICAL KIT!" Celia took it and worked on Kroc, fixing her injuries.

They opened the door, Celia in front, followed by Jon and Camil.

"Ok, do you two know where the prison is?" "It's close to the Rivet Arena. I'll show you!"

When they got there, two guards were standing in front of the entrance. When one of them turned around and saw Jon and Camil, he gasped.

"Those are the twins that attacked me!" He immediately sent out Geodude. The other Guard sent out another Geodude.

"Rock Throw!" The Geodude chucked chunks of rock at the trio. Celia took out her Pokeball and flung it in the air. Kroc materialized, and shot Water Gun by herself to deflect the rocks.

"Water Gun!" Two wet Geodude lay defeated on the ground. The two Shades screamed and ran away. Kroc shot down the door with Water Gun and they charged in.

* * *

"Claws, Rock Smash!" Claws' foreleg glowed brown, then it slammed on the bars. It didn't break, but it did leave a dent. Zeck and Dekor, who were fully healed by now, turned at the noise.

The Shade watching them saw the attack. He sent out his Graveler, who went to Brian's cell, reached in, grabbed Claws, and slammed him on the ground.

"Claws, are you ok?" Claws dizzily stood up and snarled at the Graveler.

The Shade said gruffly, "Don't try that again…" After the Graveler walked away, Brian whispered to Andy, "We gotta find a way out." "Our best hope right now is to wait for Celia."

As if that were the signal, the Shade's Graveler was suddenly pushed back by a stream of water. Brian saw the source: A Totodile followed by Celia and a pair of twins.

"Use Bubble!" Kroc sucked up air, then blasted a stream of bubbles toward the Graveler, knocking it out.

The Shade quickly returned his Graveler, then ran out the back

"FLASH!" Celia screamed as she hugged Flash through the bars.

The bars to Brian's cell collapsed as Claws Rock Smashed it again. Claws freed Flash, then opened up Andy's cell.

Brian said, "Okay, we are all together. What do we do?" Celia pointed to the entrance in front of them. Brian looked up and saw the noble's assistant standing there with a whole group of Shades behind him. Without warning, he sent out his Sandslash.

"Kroc, use Water Gun! Flash, use Quick Attack!" "Zeck, Bullet Seed! Dekor, Metal Claw! Claws, Rock Smash!" "Blaze, use Flamethrower! Nidor, Double Kick it!"

The flurry of attacks was too much for the Sandslash. It fell in defeat. The assistant laughed, then sent out his abnormally large Graveler. The other Shades sent out their Geodude and Sandshrew.

(Pokenese)

Blaze yelled, "Attack whoever you want!" With that, the whole group's Pokemon charged at the Rock and Ground types.

Rocks, seeds, flames, and streams of water were flying around everywhere.

Kroc yelled, "Get back, I'm gonna try a Surf!" The group backed up. Kroc then sent a wave of water flying from the ground, knocking out all but the Graveler.

The Graveler raised his fists and sent a Mega Punch at Claws. Claws ducked, then slammed a Rock Smash at him. They continued fighting while the rest of the team used projectile attacks to weaken the Graveler.

But before they knew what was happening, more Shades came in the other entrance. The group was stuck in the middle of the prison corridor.

"_We're stuck!"_ Celia yelled as the other Shades sent out their Sandshrew and Geodude.

But as fast as they appeared, they got knocked out by another Surf attack. But Kroc was getting tired. Luckily, all the Shades and their Pokemon were knocked out.

The group got out of the prison from a hole created from the Surf. Just as they were about to escape, the assistant's Graveler grabbed Claws and flung him against the cell bars. Claws yelled to the others, "Go get the noble! This hunk of rock is mine!"

Zeck yelled back, "No! We'll beat him together!" "You'll run out of time! Go now!" Blaze turned to Zeck and said, "He's right. Let's go!" Zeck nodded and ran off with the others in the direction of the noble.

Claws got up and faced the Rock/Ground type, who's unfortunate trainer had been knocked out by the water.

"I'm taking you down!" Claws split into 10 Linoone with his Double Team. All ten attacked with the supereffective Rock Smash. Nine of them passed through, but the tenth had smashed into Graveler, chipping part of his shoulder.

"AAARRRHHH!" Graveler shot out with a Mega Punch. But unfortunately for him, Claws was too fast. Before he knew it, the speedy Linoone had flew behind him and landed another Rock Smash.

Claws laughed. "Is that the best you can do?" Graveler slammed both his large arms into the ground, sending towers of rock at Claws.

* * *

(Normal)

Brian said to Celia, "We're almost there!" The group had returned their Pokemon to conserve their strength, except for Jon and Camil, whose Plusle and Minun were riding on their shoulders. Brian worried about Claws fighting the Graveler by himself, but he trusted his Linoone. They ran back into the noble's building, kicking down the door. They turned back into the corridor, but sped into a side room when they saw 20 Shades walk past in a hurry.

"They must be headed to the prison!" Brian exclaimed. "Claws is dead if we don't hurry!"

Celia was thinking to herself. Then she stood up and opened the door to walk out.

"Where are you going?" "I'm gonna help Claws!" "I'm supposed to say that! He is MY Pokemon after all!" "I've got Kroc and her Surf attack! I'll be alright! Here, take Flash! He will help you with the fight with Eric." She handed Brian the Pokeball and ran off. Brian got up to follow her, but Andy stopped him.

"Focus on the noble Brian." Brian then stood up. "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

Claws jumped to the side to avoid the columns of rock coming out of the ground. He flung some rubble at the Graveler, temporarily blinding him.

Claws jumped up high, then fell toward the Graveler. Gaining momentum, he charged up energy for Rock Smash. Inches above the Rock type's head, Claws slammed his foreleg into the Graveler's forehead. A miniature crater was left there. The Graveler walked around dizzily, then fell down, defeated. Claws smiled, but then he stopped when he saw 20 Shades walking toward the hole in the wall. He quickly dug underground, and hoped they wouldn't be able to find him.

* * *

Brian and Andy retraced their steps, trying to find the noble. They searched through all the rooms, but couldn't find him. They rushed out to the courtyards followed by Jon and Camil when 5 Shades running toward the prison saw them and ran to them instead.

"What to do? We are running out of time! The Shades are going to overwhelm us!" Brian said.

Andy released Blaze and Nidor. "I'll take care of them. You go find the noble!"

"But—" Jon and Camil cut in. "JUST GO!" Plusle and Minun jumped off their shoulders and prepared to fight. Brian ran off, faintly hearing Andy's command to Blaze. A moment later, a singed Sandshrew flew into the air and landed beside him. Brian took pity on it and caught it with a Pokeball. Then he continued to find Eric.

* * *

"Surf!" A huge wave of water washed down another mob of ground and rock Pokemon. Claws peeped out from his safety hole and saw Celia with Kroc fighting off the 20 Shades' Pokemon. He jumped out and knocked out a Geodude with Rock Smash.

"Claws! There you are!" Claws smiled at her and continued fighting. But after defeating another mob of Sandshrew and Geodude, 3 Shades came in with 3 Graveler. They all used Magnitude, knocking out Kroc. Claws had jumped just in time. The Shades went to Celia and tied her up. She yelled to Claws, "Go help Brian!" Claws nodded, and ran in the direction of the arena. The Shades gave chase, but couldn't keep up.

* * *

Brian ran into a final courtyard that had a greenhouse in the center. He went inside to find a gardenyish sort of place. There were cages containing bird Pokemon everywhere. They all looked unhappy.

_I only have three Pokemon. They won't be enough to beat Eric…_

Brian followed a stone path that led him to a secluded area, where Eric was holding his crystals in hand. He noticed Brian coming in.

Eric stood up and said, "I come here to relax. The people of this town are ungrateful little brats that cause me too much stress."

"Have you thought of being nicer to them?" Brian replied.

"You won't understand. They are vermin. And vermin are to be treated like vermin."

Brian got mad at this. "I challenge you to a rematch!" Eric smiled. "Well, I guess you don't learn the first time. Maybe you will learn this time! Go Pidgeotto!" "Dekor, you're up!"

(Pokenese)

"Well well well, if it isn't the shiny rat!" the bird mocked. Dekor became extremely furious

"You are toast, you little mockingbird!" Dekor leaped into the air, Metal Claws blaring.

Pidgeotto flew out of the way and slammed its wing on Dekor, sending him flying down.

"Hah, the little rat can't beat me!" "AAAHHH! SHUT UP!"

"_Dekor, use Rock Blast!" _Dekor sucked in air, then blasted out rock pellets at the bird. Pidgeotto flew over the attack, then dodged another. Then it spiraled down and Drill Pecked Dekor.

"Hah, stupid shiny rat!"

Dekor was now intensely aggravated.

He jumped over a Steel Wing and latched himself on Pidgeotto. He then slammed two Metal Claws into Pidgeotto's back. He jumped off safely. However, Pidgeotto slammed into the ground.

But then something unexpected happened. Both its wings grew a bit shorter, but into claw shapes. The bird ran toward Dekor and slammed one of them into him. Dekor thumped against a tree, stunned and surprised.

"_Pidgeotto can't use Metal Claw!" "Ah, but they can use Mirror Move!" _

Pidgeotto clawed at Dekor again, doing serious damage. Dekor retaliated with his own Metal Claw, but missed, due to Pidgeotto's agility. He was hit by another Metal claw from behind.

"Shiny rat! Shiny rat!" "STOP CALLING ME A SHINY RA—" _Shiny? I could use this to my advantage…_

"_Pidgeotto, Steel Wing the little brat!" _Pidgeotto flew into the air, but space was limited in the greenhouse, so it couldn't gain too much momentum by flying high. It's wings grew grey and it flew down, straight at Dekor.

_This better work…_ Dekor shifted his body so that sunlight bounced right off of it. He pointed the sun rays at Pidgeotto, rather, Pidgeotto's eyes. The maneuver caused the bird to shut its eyes and turn its face, making it spin around wildly. It crashed into a tree.

"_Metal Claw!" _Dekor smiled. "Look who's gonna get filleted!" He jumped right in front of Pidgeotto, and sent a Metal Claw straight at Pidgeotto's head, knocking him out.

(Normal)

"That's my Dekor!" Dekor jumped happily into Brian's arms. Eric returned his beaten Pokemon, then sent out a Golbat.

"Dekor, can you fight him?" Dekor nodded, then jumped down, ready to battle.

"Golbat, use Supersonic!" Golbat opened its huge mouth and let out high pitched sound waves at Dekor. Dekor's eyes turned swirly and he moved around dizzily.

"Leech Life!" The energy fangs appeared around Golbat. Then they zoomed toward the confused Dekor. After they connected, strands of energy were extracted from Dekor. They flew back to Golbat, energizing it even though it was fresh. Dekor, weak from the battle with Pidgeotto, immediately fainted.

"Dekor!" Brian ran to Dekor and carried him in his arms. He returned him, then pulled out another Pokeball. _Celia…_

"GO! FLASH!"

* * *

Andy, Jon and Camil were valiantly fighting off the Shades. Mostly Andy, since Plusle and Minun couldn't really do anything other than use Helping hand to boost Andy's Pokemons' strength.

"Finish them with Flamethrower!" The beefed up Blaze opened wide and sent a stream of fire straight at the remaining Sandshrew. It fell down, overcooked.

But before they could celebrate, more Shades came, this time with Sandslash and Graveler. Andy was outnumbered.

"Run! Lead them away from Brian's direction!" Andy returned Blaze and Nidor and ran away from the Shades. Jon and Camil followed.

They went back into the courthouse, then out the entrance. They rushed for the city's exit. But then two Graveler blocked the way. They turned around and saw the Shades that gave chase. Andy let out his Pokemon, but they were quickly beaten by a barrage of Rock Throws and Mega Punches. The Shades tied them up. Jon and Camil shrugged off Plusle and Minun and told them to go help Brian. The two red and blue mice jumped off the twins' shoulders as they ran as fast as they could to the courtyards.

Jon looked up to Andy.

"What do we do now?"

Andy sighed. "We hope that Brian has it in him to beat Eric…"

* * *

Flash dodged another Leech Life as he sent a Thundershock straight at Golbat. The bat was fried, but not defeated. It zoomed down with both wings outstretched for the Wing Attack.

"Flash, Thunderbolt!" A column of lightning generated from the yellow mouse. The Golbat ran head first into the blast. The beyond-overcooked Golbat rocketed to the ground.

"Good job Flash. Celia would be proud of you right now." Flashed grinned.

"Charmeleon!" The red lizard appeared out of the noble's stone.

"Flash, do you want to continue?" He nodded.

"Charmeleon, use Ember!" Fireballs were sent toward Flash. But he reacted on command and used Quick Attack to dodge, ricochet off a tree trunk, and slam into Charmeleon. They both toppled over, Flash on top.

"Discharge!" A yellow sphere formed around Flash. It grew bigger and bigger until it exploded, instantly paralyzing Charmeleon and doing serious damage. But Flash was lying on the ground, apparently fainted.

"Flash! Oh no! I forgot Discharge takes off half the user's energy to use!" Brian was about to return Flash when a white blur appeared from the ground and knocked Charmeleon off its feet. The creature's right foreleg glowed brown, then slammed into Charmeleon's head. It did a mid-air 360 degrees spin before landing on the ground.

"CLAWS!" The Linoone turned around at Brian and gave him a thumbs up with his claws.

But the Charmeleon wasn't defeated yet. It slowly stood up and then got into a fighting stance. Claws did too.

"Slash!" the two trainers yelled at the same time. Claws dashed at Charmeleon and sliced at the lizard. But Charmeleon evaded the attack and landed a Slash on Claws' shoulder. He spun around but landed on his feet.

"Rock Smash him!" "Flamethrower!" Claws disobeyed Brian and dug underground just as red-hot flames flew over him.

"Darn that Linoone…", Brian said as Charmeleon scanned the area for Claws. But then a large tree leaned a bit too far and then fell down, right next to the Charmeleon.

Brian was confused. "Huh?" But then he saw Claws at the base of the tree then understood. _He dug under the tree and then used Rock Smash to uproot it…_

Claws disappeared back into his hole. The Charmeleon, stunned by the fact he almost got crushed, snapped back to his senses and ran to where Claws was last seen. But then another tree started falling, almost crushing Charmeleon again.

"Your Linoone is smart, Brian."

Claws uprooted more and more trees until the whole garden was a mess. But the Charmeleon couldn't keep up the constant dodging. It was getting tired. He dodged another tree by jumping over it. He landed in front of one of the larger trees.

"Claws, knock that one over!" The Charmeleon turned and saw the giant tree. He thought for a moment, then realized that Claws was going to uproot it onto him. The Charmeleon screamed, but then dropped to the ground when Claws surfaced behind him and bonked him on the head.

"Your Linoone seems to be more intelligent than you are, Brian." "Thanks…wait a minute… HEY!" "Well, now you will have your whole afterlife to think about the truth of that statement. Cloud Dragon, I call upon you!" The majestic demonic (kinda contradicting) dragon appeared. It screeched, making Brian flinch. Claws seemed to be taken back as well.

"Let's end this one quickly. Hyper Beam." The Altaria opened its beak and orange orbs of energy collected. But before it could completely charge, Claws kicked up sand at the Cloud Dragon's eyes. It lost sight temporarily, and blasted the beam in a random direction. That random direction happened to be the ground below it. After the attack cleared, a good-sized crater was all that was left.

"Claws, jump and use Slash!" "Black Shadow!" Dark energy flowed from the Altaria. The energy took the form of an orb that floated at the roof of the greenhouse. The whole area instantly turned to night. Despite the menacing darkness, Claws jumped up and Slashed Altaria's face, leaving a red scratch mark. The Cloud Dragon screeched in pain.

"Shadow Wing!" "Try to dodge!" The dark Altaria swooped down with both its flaming wings outstretched.

* * *

Christina was teaching Silver to herd Mareep. But the youthful Pokemon was scared of the Mareep. Compared to them, he was a really short midget. The Mareep knew this and didn't bother about him. Christina laughed when Silver tried jumping on a Mareep, but slid down its cushiony fur. Suddenly, all the Mareep scattered and ran back into the barn. Silver was badly frightened. Christina held him in her arms and looked off toward Rivet town. She could see the contrasting shadowy darkness in one part of the town.

She muttered softly, "Brian…"

* * *

"CLAWS! NO!" Brian ran to the badly injured Linoone. The Shadow Wing would have destroyed Claws completely if he didn't jump partly out of the way so that only his shoulder was hit. Claw's brown-striped white fur was stained with red because of the blood flowing from the shoulder wound. Brian solemnly returned Claws into his Pokeball, which disappeared into his Pokedex.

"Like I said before, your Pokemon do not stand a chance. And now you will pay the price for that mistake…with your life. Send out your last Pokemon!"

Brian took out his last remaining Pokeball and flung it. His very first Pokemon, Zeck, took the field.

"Come on Zeck! Let's do this for Claws, for Flash, for Celia, heck, even for Andy! For all the people in Rivet Town! Iron Tail!"

Zeck funneled energy into his tail, making it as strong as steel. He jumped in the air and slammed it at the Altaria with amazing speed and power. The Cloud Dragon stuttered back a little bit, but then flew at Zeck with the two Shadow Wings. Zeck nimbly dodged and slammed with Iron Tail again. The Altaria dropped toward the ground, but quickly regained balance and flew upward. It circled around back toward the Treecko.

"Quick Attack!" "Dragonbreath!" Green-colored flames burst out from the Altaria's mouth. They enveloped the grass and tree trunks, setting them on an eerie green-colored fire. Zeck rolled left to avoid the flames, then dashed straight at Altaria, the Quick Attack connecting. The Cloud Dragon flapped its wings to regain the balance it had lost. But it was hit by another Iron Tail. The Altaria was getting tired.

"Cloud Dragon, go use Hyper Beam!" The orange colored beam tore up the green-flaming garden. A fissure appeared where the Hyper Beam had struck. But Zeck had dodged again and sent a barrage of Bullet Seeds at the Cloud Dragon.

"Dragonbreath the area around the Treecko, then immediately use Shadow Wing!"

The Dragon opened its mouth to once again breath out the green silky flames. But this time, it set the ground around Zeck on fire. There was a ring of green fire around the Treecko. He couldn't escape. The fire was too intense and if Zeck jumped he would be in a vulnerable position to be attacked. But it didn't matter, since the Cloud Dragon was coming straight at him with the Shadow Wings powered up.

Brian screamed, "ZECK! GET OUT OF THERE!" But he couldn't. He was in a lose-lose situation. A death-trap. He knew with certainty that it was the end. But before the oncoming Dragon hit him, something intercepted it. A bolt of lightning struck the Altaria, sending it on a detour instead of hitting Zeck.

"Flash? Oh right, I forgot to return him!" Flash was panting heavily from the attack. Earlier, while using the Discharge, he had lost a lot of energy. That attack made him lose even more.

The Altaria turned and aimed a Shadow Wing at Flash. Zeck jumped out of the ring of fire but was too far away to intercept. But ironically, a pair of lightning bolts struck the Altaria.

"Plusle! Minun!" The two pika-look-a-likes waved at Brian. The Altaria was slightly paralyzed and was trying to regain movement. Flash limped over to the two positive and negative mice. He said something to them, but Brian couldn't understand. He saw Minun yell out in protest, but Plusle stopped him. Flash nodded. They both shot out blue electricity at Flash. _That's the Helping Hand attack. It boosts attack power. Why would Flash tell Plusle and Minun to use it on him? Unless, he's trying to power up to …use one final attack!_

"Flash! DON'T DO IT!" It was too late. Flash, with blue electricity flying out of him, jumped into the air. The yellow sphere already generated around him. The Cloud Dragon was directly in front of him. Then the Discharge exploded.

* * *

The whole greenhouse-- walls and all --collapsed. Everything was rubbletized. Brian was knocked off his feet. Zeck, Plusle, and Minun appeared fine. The Cloud Dragon was no where to be seen. Brian saw Eric. He was completely blackened by the attack. But Brian wasn't looking for him. He was looking for Flash. He searched and searched until he saw a spark of electricity fly up. Brian frantically scrambled there. He found Flash under a large portion of a tree trunk. Brian managed to slightly push it out of the way to grab Flash.

"Flash…Flash! Why? Why? You were so stupid! Celia would never have let you done that! Why?"

(Pokenese)

Plusle said to Zeck, "Wow, your trainer cares a lot for Pokemon, even other people's." "Yeah I know. That's what makes him a good person. He cares…"

But then out of the blue, the Cloud Dragon zoomed down from the sky and struck the spot where Plusle and Minun were. They would have been crushed by the Shadow Wing if Zeck hadn't grabbed them and jumped out of the way.

Zeck said to them, "Stay here, I'll take care of it!" He stared at the Dragon. It's eyes were a blackish red.

"AAHH!" Zeck flung himself at the Altaria, only to get knocked down violently by a Shadow Wing. He flew into the ground with quite some force.

"_Zeck!" _Zeck heard his trainer faintly calling. He saw the Cloud Dragon approach Brian from behind. It knocked Brian over with a Wing Attack. Plusle and Minun both used Thundershock to zap it.

Momentarily distracted, the Altaria flew up high.

Zeck saw Plusle and Minun come to him and help him up.

"Are you ok?" "I'll be fine…" An idea sparked in his head.

"Both of you, use Helping Hand on me!" They nodded, then sent blue thunder at the Treecko. Zeck stared up into the sky and saw the oncoming flaming demon bird.

Zeck flowed all the energy he had and all the Helping Hand energy into his mouth.

_A makeshift solarbeam…_

The energy charged. Swirls of blue and green collected in his mouth as the Altaria opened its mouth for Hyper Beam.

_Come on…_

The Altaria's mouth glowed a bright orange as Zeck's was a bright green.

_Almost done…_

The Altaria fired the Hyper Beam, straight at the trio. Zeck jolted the remaining energy from Helping Hand into his attack. The Solarbeam exploded out of his mouth. Zeck was flung back by the force of the attack. Plusle and Minun fainted from exhaustion from using Helping Hand too much.

The two beams collided in the center. The orange beam was apparently pushing the green one back.

_The Hyper Beam is too strong… I won't be able to push it back. I have to think of another way to win…_

The Cloud Dragon's attack forced the Solarbeam back and back.

_The Black Shadow is still here! If I can destroy it, the momentary loss of power might distract it!_

Zeck turned his head to point it at the floating black orb in the sky that was generating all the darkness. His Solarbeam quickly followed. But the Hyper Beam, now with nothing opposing it, flew straight at Zeck.

The green beam reached the orb and blew it to pieces. Almost instantaneously, the sky brightened. The Cloud Dragon stopped firing the Hyper Beam. Zeck immediately refocused the Solarbeam at the Altaria. With no time to charge for another Hyper Beam, Altaria was struck full force. It fell toward the ground.

In mid-air, the Cloud Dragon lost its shadowy features. The dark flaming wings returned to their cloudy fluffiness. The streams of black fire going back from its head became blue strands of hair. The blackish red in the eyes disappeared completely. The Altaria looked at Zeck, and muttered one word before crashing into the ground.

"Thanks…"

Zeck rushed to the Altaria. But the body slowly disintegrated into balls of white light. They formed together into a Pokeshard. The once black-filled crystal was now white with a hint of blue. Zeck gently took it in his hands. Then the toll of charging a Solarbeam at a low level was finally realized by Zeck's body. He toppled over in exhaustion.

* * *

Everyone was either dancing, singing, or screaming their lungs out in the streets of Rivet. The Shades' power had been broken. Jon, Camil, Plusle, Minun, and Celia were being held on people's shoulders as the "saviors of the town." Andy had politely refused and watched with amusement as someone's arm accidentally hit Celia's Pokedex and released Flash, who, on impulse, zapped Celia. Eric, although released from the grasps of darkness, was still untrusted by the people. So they locked him up in a rebuilt prison.

Brian was too busy fingering the Pokeshard that he found Zeck clutching when he fainted. It appeared to be the only remnant of the Cloud Dragon. He decided to hold on to it as a keepsake. But then someone came, snatched him, and threw him onto the arms of parading people. Celia, who was being carried by, waved.

Brian thought _Well, today sure is going to be fun…especially finding a way off of this parade…

* * *

_

Well, the fight's ending was really dramatic. Sigh, I take so long to update.

Zeck: You sure do! You haven't worked on our fic in a whole week!

Kroc: Yeah!

Blaze: Whoa, cool it! I'm sure he has his reasons.

Zeck: You're telling US to cool it? Who's the fire-type around here?

Blaze: I'll set your tail on fire so YOU'LL be a fire-type too, K?

Zeck: Only after I introduce you to my Iron Tail!

Zeck and Blaze start beating the stuffing out of each other

Kroc: Sigh…


	13. The Battle Fisher Returns!

The Battle Fisher Returns!

Brian looked at his surroundings. He was in a nursery of some kind. Skillfully painted pictures of various Pokemon were placed on the walls. He also noticed 2 people in the nursery, scanning the Pokemon there. One was a middle-aged man. The other was a handsome young man that was about 17 years old. They were followed by 2 Pokemon: a Grovyle and a Haunter.

_Where am I? _Brian thought. He walked in front of the two people and asked, "Hi! I'm kinda lost, and—" He was cut off when the younger man walked through him, followed by the older one, and then the two Pokemon.

"Ok, that was weird. I guess they can't see or hear me." The younger man then spoke.

"Father, where is the creature?" "It is over there, Lance." _Lance, huh? _

They walked to the end of the nursery. He then saw a golden structure positioned under a rather large painting of some sort of dragonish bird. In it was a white egg that had blue streaks over it.

"You see, Lance, all the kings that will rule over this country receives this blessing. Only his predecessor may give it to him." _What blessing?_

Lance's father took out a stone from the inside of his robe. It started to glow, and after a bright flash, a magnificent Pokemon stood before Brian.

"A…a L-lugia!" Brian stared in awe at the legendary Pokemon. Without making a sound, the Lugia went to the egg and intently stared at it. Its eyes faded into a blue hue as the egg itself was enveloped by blue and white dots that materialized from thin air.

_What on earth is happening?_

The egg slowly rose into the air as it began to form into another shape. But before it could finish, the image cut off and disappeared, leaving Brian in darkness.

* * *

He jerked up from his bed, in a total state of confusion. But he quickly forgot the dream as cold stream of water blasted into his face. 

"Celia! Stop! He's already awake!" The stream stopped, leaving Brian even more confused.

"Oops… Brian! You're FINALLY awake. You were in such a deep sleep, nothing would wake you up. I slapped you so hard my own hands hurt now."

Brian got out of bed and looked in a mirror. Red handprints were all over his wet face.

"I was so desperate I even tried Kroc's Water Gun." Kroc grinned from the side of the bed. Brian said, "Yeah, I remember that part."

"Man, I had this weird dream. It doesn't make any sense. I was…" Celia sighed. "Who cares about your stupid dreams! Remember what the new leader of the town said?"

Brian searched his brain. He couldn't find an answer. Andy said, "You have a pretty bad memory. I wonder if Celia hit you too hard." "Oh shut up, Andy." "Well, the new leader wanted to publicly thank you at the Rivet Arena. Good thing we woke you up. You have half an hour to get ready."

Brian took a look at his Pokedex

"What the… how come I have four Pokemon?" Celia sighed. "You forgot how to count?"

Brian shook his head. "No, I know how to count very well. I forgot to tell you I caught a Shade's Sandshrew!" "A Sandshrew?" "Yeah, while Andy was fighting, Blaze blasted a Sandshrew which landed right in front of me! So I caught it."

"You can catch other people's Pokemon?" "Well, maybe because Andy whooped the Shade's butt, the Shade doesn't have control over his Pokemon anymore!" "Well, let it out!"

Brian tapped the Sandshrew icon on his Pokedex, which formed a Pokeball in his hand. He opened the top half, releasing the ground-type.

The Sandshrew looked around the room with a confused look on its face.

"Oh it's SOOO cute!", Celia cried. She gave it a big hug, effectively choking it. Brian said, "You can have her if you want. I don't really want a Sandshrew." Celia's eyes widened. "Oh thank you Brian!" She gave him a suffocating squeeze as well. After regaining his breath, Brian handed the Pokeball to her.

"Let's see, I have to decide on a name for you… Sandy! That's a good name!" "So simple…" "Well, I don't want to think! So Sandy it is!" Sandy looked at Celia, still confused.

Andy walked over to the bed where the Sandshrew sat. "It probably still thinks it belongs to the Shade. Why don't you ask Kroc to explain it to Sandy?" "Good idea! Kroc, you heard Andy!"

(Pokenese)

"So…Sandy, is it?" "Actually, it's PIECE OF ROTTEN FILTH. That's what my master calls me. Where is he anyway?" "Well, Andy here beat him to a pulp, so you are free now." "Really?" "Yes, really." "You mean no more whippings and curses and beatings and threats and all the other stuff you get from evil people?" "Yes…" "WOOHOO! It's time to PARTY!" "Uh… sure. So, we are buddies now. Celia's your new owner."

(Normal)

Sandy ran over to Celia and returned the death squeeze that Celia gave her before.

As they headed toward Rivet Arena, Brian couldn't help turning his thoughts to the dream he had. It didn't make sense. _I remember something about a Lugia. But how on earth did I dream that up? It's totally unrelated!_

His thoughts were interrupted by Celia when she asked Andy, "When should we head for Utila?"

"How about we go after the ceremony?"

"Jon! Camil!" "Hey Brian!"

The three walked toward the siblings who helped them in their fight against Eric.

Jon smiled. "You have a good night's sleep? After all that getting tossed in the air yesterday, you must be pretty tired."

Brian laughed and rubbed his arm. "I just wish they had caught me after tossing me." Camil giggled. "Our mom and dad gave us a HUGE allowance raise, and Plusle and Minun are stuffed to the brim with mom's apple pie."

The two mice on the shoulders of their owners burped loudly and patted their bellies.

"Let's get to the ceremony before we are la—" Celia couldn't finish because at that moment, someone rushed by her and knocked her to the ground. He continued heading toward the arena without stopping to apologize.

"COME BACK HERE YOU BLOCKHEAD!" "Celia! Forget him! We have to get to the ceremony!"

Celia gritted her teeth, but followed her friends. _That skinny little straw hat boy… have I seen him before?

* * *

_

"Ever since the King of Shadows imprisoned all of the kingdom, we have had no hope. Until now! We thought the noble of this town was unbeatable. These three have proven us wrong! We have Brian, Celia, and Andy to thank for our freedom!"

All of the townspeople must have been there, because their cheers seemed to burst Brian's eardrums.

"Their courage and bravery were unmatched as they charged into the evil noble's lair! Now that we are freed, we will all support them as they go on to Utila to free the rest of the kingdom!"

More cheering, which meant more eardrum bursting for Brian.

"We thank you three from the bottom of our hearts. We could never repay the debt that we owe you."

As the people cheered, Brian thought, _One way is to give me ear plugs!_

"We'll give you all the essential supplies for your journey and enough money to buy a house. Once again we thank you!"

_Please stop thanking me! My ears can't take it!_

"We—" "Hey you!" The same boy that pushed Celia down earlier was now calling to Brian.

"I would never thought that you were the one who defeated Eric."

Brian looked down from the stage that was set up. "Will? What are you doing here?" He could say no more. He was holding back Celia who had lept from her seat and was trying to punch and kick Will. Unfortunately for Brian, most of those punches and kicks landed on him.

"COME OVER HERE! I'LL BEAT YOU TO A PULP!" Will laughed. "Sorry, but although you beat me last time, I'm not interested in fighting with you." Celia stopped, to the great relief of Brian. "What? Then who do you want to fight?"

Will pointed to the one behind her. "You." Brian followed his gaze, which ended up with him looking at his own chest. Everyone facefaulted.

"I still don't believe that you beat Eric. So now, I'm challenging you to a match!" The townspeople gasped, then started saying, "Battle! Battle! Battle!"

Brian wouldn't have battled if he had ear plugs to block the crowd's incessant cries.

"OKAY OKAY! I ACCEPT! JUST STOP YELLING! Man, it's worse than Celia's screaming!" That resulted in him falling on the floor with knuckle marks on his face.

The new leader then said, "So our champion agrees to fight the challenger! I guess we have ourselves a main event today!"

* * *

_Okay, so Celia and Andy beat him last time. He had a Squirtle and a Chinchou. I'll have to use my Pokemon's speed to my advantage. His Pokemon are slow, but strong. But maybe he caught more Pokemon. Hm… ah I'll just wing it!_

The stage for the ceremony was removed, and the field was set up. Brian stood on one end, and facing him on the other was his opponent, Will. Andy and Celia were watching from the side. The townspeople were buzzing with excitement.

A judge walked to the center of the battlefield. "This will be a coliseum rules match. It will be a 3 on 3 match, one Pokemon at a time. No substitutions for both of the contestants. First to defeat his opponent's three Pokemon wins." He backed up, out of the field.

"Begin!"

Will whipped out his stone and fired a flash of light. It landed and took the form of Shocker, his Chinchou. Instead of dropping to the ground like a fish on land, it strangely floated above it. _Probably the static it generates is aimed at the ground, pushing it up. _"Let's start this match, Shocker!"

"Dekor, go!" The Pokeball appeared in his hand, and he flung it into the air. It released his Aron, who was itching to fight.

Will grinned. "A Rock and Steel type. This should end fast. Shocker, use Bubblebeam!"

The Chinchou opened its mouth and shot a stream of fast-moving bubbles.

"Dekor, Dig!" The Aron dug underground, narrowly dodging the supereffective water attack.

"Attack with Rock Blast!" Dekor surfaced under Shocker and blasted a barrage of rock pellets at close range to the Chinchou. They all connected, causing major damage.

"Shocker! Are you alright?" The Chinchou nodded. "Okay! Use Bubblebeam once more!" The stream of bubbles came again.

"Metal Claw them!" One of Dekor's paw grew into a grey colored claw. He swiped at the incoming bubbles and dissipated them.

"Shocker, Bubblebeam again!" The beam of bubbles came again, only to be popped by another Metal Claw.

"Again!" _Boy, he's insistent. _The same process happened again and again and again until the Chinchou was out of breath.

Brian yelled, "What are you trying to do? You are just tiring out your Pokemon and giving mine attack boosts!" If using Metal Claw, it will sometimes boost the user's attack. Dekor's claws were already very large from all the boosts.

Will just smiled. "Oh you'll see. Bubblebeam one last time!" Another barrage of bubbles came. Dekor charged at them, destroying them with his Metal Claw. Once he got to Shocker, he smashed a claw at Shocker's side, slamming him to the ground.

"Shocker! Use Thundershock!" A small bolt of lightning shot out of Shocker's antennae. Dekor simply stepped to the side, allowing it to pass him. He was surprised when the ground he was standing on sparked up and zapped him.

"What happened?" Brian asked. "That was what I was planning to do all along! Popping those Bubblebeams only made the ground all wet. And water conducts electricity!" _Dang, that was a smart move!_

The announcer said, "A good move by the challenger! Brian's Aron has suffered a lightning attack. What will he do to retaliate?"

Brian said, "Dekor! Attack with your Metal Claw!" The Aron lunged at the Chinchou, both claws aimed at it. Another bolt of lightning shot out and sparked the ground, zapping Dekor again.

"Ahhh! Dekor!" "Your Aron won't be able to take much more!"

_Gotta think of something… if there is so much water on the field… I need to take it away… Or… COVER IT UP! OF COURSE!_

"Shocker, finish it with Spark!" The Chinchou charged electricity in its antennae and then slammed the ground with both of them. The whole field had sparks and bolts of electricity flying everywhere.

"Hurry and Mud Slap the area around you!" Dekor spun around and shot out globs of mud. They splattered and covered the area around him. When the bolts reached the mud, they disappeared.

"Oh no! Bubblebeam, quick!" Brian smiled. "Dekor, now use Metal Claw on the ground!" Dekor slammed a Metal Claw into the ground in front of him. He sent a wave of mud flying toward the Chinchou, who was completely covered before it could fire.

"Ahh! Shocker!" Slowly, the Chinchou dug its way out. But before it could retaliate, it was hit by another Metal Claw, causing it to faint.

"The winner of the first round is Brian, and his Aron!" The crowd cheered their champion on.

Will returned his defeated Pokemon with his shard. "You did a good job…" He looked at Brian and said, "You're pretty good, I'll admit." "Heh, how'd you think I beat Eric?"

* * *

Andy looked on from the side. He watched Dekor slam his Metal Claw at the Chinchou, knocking it out. 

Beside him, Celia was screaming, "WOOHOO! SHOW THAT FISHERBOY HOW TO MOP THE FLOOR!"

Andy gave her a sharp look. "Sheesh, will you be quiet? He only won the first battle."

* * *

"Good job, Dekor!" Brian patted the Steel type Pokemon's head. Dekor smiled and licked Brian's hand. 

The announcer then said, "On with the second round! Brian has his Aron. Let's see his opponent's Pokemon!" Will took out another shard, and blasted another burst of light. "Go Scorpio!" The light then formed into a teal and grey colored scorpion. Two sharp pincers and feather like legs accompanied by a twin pointed tail were the Pokemon's limbs. Two false eyes sprung out of its head.

Andy stood straight up from his seat. "An Anorith!" Celia turned her head and looked at him. "What's that? It's just another Pokemon." "That Pokemon went extinct 600 years ago!" "Then how'd Will get one?" Andy was about to say, 'I have no clue' when a thought struck him. "This place we are in… Christina mentioned that they were warped into another dimension by the King of Shadows. Perhaps the Anorith in this dimension didn't go extinct." "Oh…"

Brian said, "Well, that's a strange Pokemon. Dekor, can you take it?" Dekor nodded and jumped into a battle position.

"Round two starts now! Begin!"

Brian yelled, "Dekor! Use Metal Claw!" Dekor lunged at the Anorith with Metal Claws flailing.

"Vicegrip!" The two battled it out, claw against claw. Scorpio slammed a pincer at Dekor, who narrowly dodged it by jumping into the air. He came down hard with a Metal Claw at the Anorith's head. Scorpio slumped to the ground.

"Good job! This thing must be weak against steel attacks! Metal Claw again!"

Will quickly said, "Oh no you don't! Scorpio, use Water Pulse!"

Brian gasped. "A water attack?"

Beads of water appeared in the air. They swirled around Scorpio's two pincers, forming two water rings. Scorpio aimed them at Dekor, and the rings blasted toward him.

"Dekor, look out!" It was too late. The rings slammed into Dekor, knocking him backward.

"Oh no! Dekor's partly rock-type!" Dekor got up dizzily. It seemed like he couldn't focus. Brian said to himself, "Water Pulse confused him. I better do something quick!"

Will grinned and said, "Scorpio, finish him with an Ancient Power!"

Brian asked, "What does THAT do?" Will laughed and replied, "Oh you'll find out soon enough!"

Pieces of rock lifted out of the ground around Scorpio. They began to circle around him. A brownish glow emanated from them. The glow seemed to be drawn into the Anorith itself.

"Now, attack!" The ring of rocks spun faster and faster until they looked like a solid ring. The ring blasted at full speed toward Dekor.

"Dekor, try using Rock Blast!" Dekor shot out a barrage of rocks at the approaching ring. Instead of colliding, the rock pellets simply went into the ring and spun with it, making it larger.

"Ahh! Dekor!" The now large rock-ring zoomed at Dekor. They crashed into him, sending debris flying everywhere. Dekor was out cold under a pile of stone.

"DEKOR!" Brian ran to where his Aron was buried. After digging him out, he returned his badly dented Aron.

Will just laughed and said, "So, how does it feel to be buried by my powerful Pokemon, oh great 'champion'?"

The tone of sarcasm ignited a burning flame of indignation within Brian. Barely audible, he said, "That's it… you're going down…"

* * *

Andy looked at Brian closely as the announcer declared Will's Anorith the victor. _He's really getting mad. He better control his temper, or he won't be able to battle with a clear mind…_

"COME ON BRIAN! YOU CAN STILL WIN THIS! TAKE HIM OUT!"

Andy thought, '_Actually, Brian was wrong. The crowd's yelling is definitely not worse than Celia's…'

* * *

_

"The third round will begin as soon as Brian chooses his Pokemon!"

"Let's go Claws!" The Linoone stretched himself after getting released. He looked at the Anorith and snorted.

"Claws, use Rock Smash!" Instead of following directions, Claws dug underground.

Will laughed at the scene. "Brian, you can't even control your own Pokemon!" At that moment, Claws resurfaced underneath Scorpio and slammed the Rock Smash into the Anorith's belly. He flew up high and landed hard. But instead of lying there, it quickly jumped back up and fired a Water Pulse. The water attack zoomed at Claws, who easily evaded it.

"How did Scorpio shrug that off so easily? Rock Smash should have been super-effective!"

"Ancient Power has a slight chance of raising all of the user's stats!" Will answered.

_Now his Anorith is really beefed up! There's only one thing to do… beef up Claws!_

"Claws!" Brian shouted. The Linoone looked back at him. "You willing to take one for the team?" Claws nodded confidently. "Alright! Use Belly Drum!"

_I have to be careful… although Belly Drum dramatically increases the attack of Claws, it cuts his stamina by 50... _

The judge exclaimed, "To counter Anorith's stats boost, Brian has decided to boost his own Pokemon's attack!"

A red aura lifted itself out of Claws's body. He stuttered a little when the aura lifted, but regained his footing. The aura then split into 2. Each segment fit over Claws's arms.

"Claws, use Rock Smash again!" Claws flew at the Anorith with a charged arm. It struck, and Scorpio flew twenty feet backward.

"Scorpio!" "Good job Claws!"

The Anorith slowly got up, then another ring of rocks lifted out of the ground and began to spin.

"Destroy the ring before it spins too quickly!" Brian yelled.

His Linoone immediately dashed at full speed straight at the rock ring. With both arms glowing a dark red, he dove at the ring and cut through it easily. The rocks stopped spinning and landed on top of Scorpio. However, the pile of rocks burst apart, revealing Scorpio, who wasn't too hurt.

"Scorpio, use Rock Slide!" A bunch of rocks came out of the ground and rolled toward Claws at high speed.

"Claws, look out!" Claws stood his ground and stared at the oncoming attack. The last thing Brian saw before his Linoone was covered in boulders was an orb of orange light.

"CLAWS!"

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for not updating. I was extremely busy during the summer. And when I had free time, I either couldn't get to the computer, or I was playing video games.

I know, I know. Why do I have to make it a cliffhanger? Because... I'm too lazy to finish the whole thing! LoL!

* * *


End file.
